Criminal charges filed against Edward Snowden

The Washington Post broke the story at 6:04 PM ET:

U.S. charges Edward Snowden with espionage in leaks about NSA surveillance programs

Federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs, and the United States has asked Hong Kong to detain him on a provisional arrest warrant, according to U.S. officials.

Snowden was charged with espionage, theft and conversion of government property, the officials said.

The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, a jurisdiction where Snowden’s former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered and a district with a long track record of prosecuting cases with national security implications.

From Bob Orr's report for CBS Evening News (6:30 PM ET), the government has not made public all the charges but now has 60 days to file more detailed charges.  From Jennifer Griffen report for Fox News 7:05 PM:  Government asking Hong Kong Snowden to be detained on a provisional arrest warrant.

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