Testy U.S. officials demand return of NSA document leaker Snowden

U.S. officials Monday testily asked the Russian government to expel fugitive document leaker Edward Snowden, who arrived there Sunday after spending several days in hiding in Hong Kong.

In a statement, the White House National Security Council blasted government officials in China and Hong Kong for permitting Snowden to leave despite an official U.S. request to detain him.

The security council called on Russian officials to extradite Snowden immediately, a move it said would be in keeping with the "intensified cooperation" between the U.S. and Russia that followed the Boston Marathon terrorist bombings in April. "We are disappointed by the decision of the authorities in Hong Kong to permit Mr. Snowden to flee despite the legally valid U.S. request to arrest him for purposes of his extradition under the U.S.-Hong Kong Surrender Agreement," NSC spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in an email statement to Computerworld..