The man wanted by the United States for leaking details of National Security Agency intelligence gathering says journalists have been misled into printing false claims about his legal situation , The Huffington Post reported Thursday . In an e-mailed statement to the news organization , Edward Snowden distanced himself from his father , Lon Snowden ; his father 's attorney , Bruce Fein ; and Fein 's associates , saying `` they do not possess any special knowledge regarding my situation . '' `` None of them have been or are involved in my current situation , and this will not change in the future , '' the statement said . Snowden 's father : ' I know my son ' `` I ask journalists to understand that they do not possess any special knowledge regarding my situation or future plans , and not to exploit the tragic vacuum of my father 's emotional compromise for the sake of tabloid news . '' The statement was released the same day The Wall Street Journal reported that Lon Snowden 's legal team does not trust his son 's closest advisers : WikiLeaks and Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald . `` I would like to correct the record : I 've been fortunate to have legal advice from an international team of some of the finest lawyers in the world , and to work with journalists whose integrity and courage are beyond question , '' Snowden said in the statement . Snowden stepped forward publicly in June to claim responsibility for leaking to the media , including The Guardian , that the NSA had secretly collected and stored millions of phone records from accounts in the United States . The agency also collected information from U.S. companies on the Internet activity of overseas residents , he said . Snowden , a former NSA contractor , fled first to Hong Kong and then to Russia , where he was granted temporary asylum despite pressure from the Obama administration to return him to the United States to face charges . He has been charged with three felony counts , including violations of the U.S . Espionage Act , for the leaks . The Huffington Post reported that the American Civil Liberties Union confirmed that the e-mailed statement was from Snowden . The ACLU has lauded Snowden 's actions as a `` service '' to the country , and it reportedly is helping coordinate the former intelligence contractor 's defense in the United States .
Edward Snowden emailed a statement to The Huffington Post . In it , he says his company 's legal team does ` ` not have special authority regarding my situation '' ` ` any of them have been or are involved in my current situation , '' the statement says . Edward 's statement sparked a news story about a rift .