The US government pulls out all stops to prosecute, hound, and capture those who reveal classified data. This plus constant control and surveillance makes it impossible to keep anything private or secret, Pulitzer-winning journalist Chris Hedges told RT.

RT: The US is focused on chasing Snowden, which seems to have distracted from his revelations - is anyone in the States asking whether the surveillance system prism was constitutional?

Chris Hedges: Some people are, but not many, which is quite distressing. You have Glenn Greenwald, the journalist from The Guardian who broke the story. You have lawyers Michael Ratner from the Center of the Constitutional Rights asking those kinds of questions, but I think that for those of us who care about freedom of information, about protecting sources, about stopping wholesale government surveillance, I think it’s been a very lonely time. And I think one of the things that’s been so distressing is that the serious questions that should be asked are not being asked.

RT: Does that play into the hands of the government and what Washington would like to keep secret?

CH: Well they can’t keep it a secret anymore, it’s exposed. But I think what they have done is divert attention to that kind of a mini-soap opera that is now taking place, as Snowden leaps from Hong Kong to Moscow, to ostensibly Cuba, Ecuador. They knew we saw the same thing happening to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, to Bradley Manning, who exposed war crimes and is now on trial in military court in Maryland. It’s a very similar and oppressing kind of scenario, where the state propaganda machine has quite effectively diverted attention away from where it should be, which is the effect that there is no more privacy anymore left in the United States, and focused attention on character, on activities of Snowden. Through their lens, it’s not a dispassionate view of either Snowden or what he’s done.

 RT: When do you think Snowden might reveal his whereabouts and where do you think he will go?

CH: He doesn’t have many options: Cuba, Ecuador, maybe Venezuela, that’s about it. He has of course asked for political asylum as [Assange did], although the British government isn’t allowing him to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London. I mean these kinds of questions, again, for me are not the paramount questions as a journalist. The fact that the government sees virtually all the communications, electronic communications of American citizens, means that I can’t work. I think one of the reasons that Snowden went public with his disclosure is that he knew quite well that the US government has all the communications that Glenn Greenwald has made, and there was no way to hide those kind of contacts between himself as a traditional whistleblower and the journalist who wrote up this story of the wholesale spying on most American citizens by the National Security Agency. And that means that in essence you’re shutting down any capacity to shine a light on the internal workings of power. It becomes impossible to challenge the official narrative - and let’s not forget that the government quite selectively leaks classified information all the time to make themselves look good. But once information is exposed, that tarnishes them, and I think it’s quite clearly unconstitutional. Then the security and surveillance state pulls out all stops to prosecute, hound and capture those person or persons who made those revelations, and that’s precisely what we’re seeing, it’s not an uncommon scenario judging by what we’ve seen happening to Julian Assange and given of course what’s been happening to Bradley Manning.

RT: The authorities say surveillance is essential to counter terrorism. But does it justify daily spying on people, including on heads of state?

CH: I covered Al-Qaeda for the New York Times and spent seven years in the Middle East with a variety of Jihadist groups. These people are well aware, acutely aware of the fact that all of their communications is closely monitored by American security and intelligence officials. So there’s nothing new in these revelations to them. What is new is that we as Americans essentially have no privacy left, no capacity to communicate without the eye of the government upon every form of communications that we make – that’s what’s new. And that has nothing to do with terrorism, that has nothing to do with national security, that has to do with control of the population, as we see greater and greater effects - catastrophic effects - from climate change as the very fragile global economy again teeters on the brink of collapse, the security in surveillance state wants the capacity to shut down any form of dissent, and this mechanism of the wholesale surveillance gives them precisely that.

Washington says it expects the Russian government to 'look at all options available' to expel Edward Snowden to the US to face espionage charges. That's after the White House expressed 'disappointment' China and Hong Kong didn't detain the NSA leaker.

"We expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged,"  the White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden stressed.

However, a senior Russian lawmaker stressed that Washington should not expect Moscow to extradite Snowden.

"Ties are in a rather complicated phase and when ties are in such a phase, when one country undertakes hostile action against another, why should the United States expect restraint and understanding from Russia?" Aleksey Pushkov, head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of parliament, pointed out to Reuters.

Earlier, the US strongly objected to the authorities in Hong Kong and China at the decision to let Snowden flee through their territories.

The US Justice Department has been in “continual contact” with Hong Kong authorities since the prominent whistleblower Edward Snowden first revealed his identity and whereabouts on June 10, Reuters reports.

RT’s Gayane Chichakyan indicated that in its official statement, Hong Kong government centers on the revelations rather than on the leaker.

“Hong Kong says they want more information about the hacking of the systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies that was part of the Snowden’s revelations. So, in this official statement we see how Hong Kong shifts the focus from the messenger, Edward Snowden, to the message.”

She also said the US authorities are doing everything possible not to focus on the revelations, which “show that the US has lied and has been doing the same as they accuse China of doing. Policy makers in the US are doing everything to shift the attention away from the revelations by focusing on Snowden himself, or even by attacking other countries like Russia...”

 In Sunday’s press release, announcing that Snowden has left Hong Kong, the island government acknowledged that the US was aware of discrepancies.

“Snowden left Hong Kong …on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel… [as there was] no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving,” the release read.

Earlier the US State Department issued a statement warning the countries of the ‘Western Hemisphere” about reports that Edward Snowden might be looking refuge in the region and urging them to not let the whistleblower in and assist with returning him to the US.

The announcement by the Justice Department came as US authorities revoked Snowden’s passport, according to several US officials who spoke with the media on condition of anonymity.

"As is routine and consistent with US regulations, persons with felony arrest warrants are subject to having their passport revoked," Jen Psaki, State Department spokeswoman said in a statement. "Such a revocation does not affect citizenship status."

On Sunday, WikiLeaks which is allegedly helping Snowden escape the American justice system tweeted Snowden left Hong Kong and is "bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum."

Ecuador is currently considering Snowden's bid for asylum.

En route to his final destination, whistleblower Edward Snowden made a stopover at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Due to the absence of a Russian visa, he allegedly stayed overnight in a hotel in the airport's transit zone. On Monday, he was expected to fly to Cuba before changing planes to Ecuador.

However, Snowden has not been seen aboard the plane to Havana, although two seats had been checked in under his name, RT's Egor Piskunov reported. The plane departed from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.

Snowden has been charged by the US authorities with theft of federal government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person. The last two charges fall under the US Espionage Act. 

 The US is "disappointed and disagrees" with Hong Kong's decision to let Snowden leave the country despite a provisional arrest request, and has warned countries in the Western Hemisphere to not allow him to “proceed in any further international travel.”

“The US is disappointed and disagrees with the determination by Hong Kong authorities not to honor the US request for the arrest of the fugitive," the official told Reuters.

The US Justice Department has been in “continual contact” with Hong Kong authorities since the prominent whistleblower first revealed his identity and whereabouts on June 10, Reuters reports.

Hong Kong did not raise any issues in regard the sufficiency of the documents provided with the US request for Snowden’s arrest, the official claimed. “In light of this, we find their decision to be particularly troubling,” the official said.

In Sunday’s press release however, announcing that Snowden has left Hong Kong, the island government acknowledged that the US was aware of discrepancies as they had filed a request for more information.

“Snowden left Hong Kong …on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel… [as there was] no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving,” the release read.

Earlier the US State Department issued a statement warning the countries of the ‘Western Hemisphere” about reports that Edward Snowden might be looking refuge in the region and urging them to not let the whistleblower in and assist with returning him to the US.

“The US is advising these governments that Snowden is wanted on felony charges, and as such should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States," the official said as cited by Reuters.

The announcement by the Justice Department came as US authorities revoked Snowden’s passport, according to several US officials who spoke with the media on condition of anonymity.

"As is routine and consistent with US regulations, persons with felony arrest warrants are subject to having their passport revoked," Jen Psaki, State Department spokeswoman said in a statement. "Such a revocation does not affect citizenship status. Persons wanted on felony charges, such as Mr. Snowden, should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States. Because of the Privacy Act, we cannot comment on Mr Snowden's passport specifically."

On Sunday, WikiLeaks which is allegedly helping Snowden escape the American justice system tweeted Snowden left Hong Kong and is "bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum."

En route to the final destination, the plane carrying whistleblower Edward Snowden landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. He will reportedly first fly to Cuba.

The documentary film revolves around the crash of the Trans World Airlines Flight 800, a Boeing 747-131 that exploded and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York on July 17, 1996. The plane had been en route from New York to Paris, but went up in flames over the Atlantic Ocean, just 12 minutes after take-off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. There were no survivors, and some speculated that the plane might have been the target of a terrorist attack. Several witnesses alleged that they saw a streak of light moving toward the aircraft before it exploded, leading some to believe that an anti-aircraft missile or rocket was responsible for the explosion. But an NTSB report drawn up after a 16-month investigation concluded that the “accident” was a result of faulty wiring that caused an electrical short circuit in the fuel gauge line, thereby resulting in a devastating fuel tank explosion. All NTSB employees and investigators were forced to stand by this conclusion, whether or not they believed it, the film’s producers said in a statement. 

“These investigators were not allowed to speak to the public or refute any comments made by their superiors and/or NTSB and FBI officials about their work at the time of the official investigation,” the statement says. 

Despite the NTSB’s report, some Americans continued to believe that the plane was fatally struck by a missile or rocket. They were termed conspiracy theorists, and their beliefs long overshadowed by the government’s official conclusion. Pierre Salinger, a former Press Secretary for John F. Kennedy and a reporter for ABC News, claimed he had seen proof that the US Navy shot down the plane. He argued that the government covered up the truth to hide the agency’s fatal mistake. 

Salinger’s evidence was an e-mail from Richard Russell, a former United Airlines pilot who had obtained a videotape of radar screens from the night of the TWA explosion. But Bob Francis, the former vice chairman of the NTSB, told CNN that Salinger was “an idiot” who “didn’t know what he was talking about” and was “totally irresponsible”. 

The crash is considered the third-deadliest US aviation accident in history, but the now-retired NTSB investigators featured in the documentary are hinting that it may never have been an “accident” at all. Interviews with members of the NTSB team will air on EPIX TV next month, on the 17-year anniversary of the deadly crash. Six whistleblowers featured in the film are expected to expose the government’s cover-up of an incident that may have been an attack, a grave mistake by the Navy, or some other external force, if their claims are true. The producers of the film say that the NTSB investigators do not speculate about the source of the external explosion, but simply contradict the government’s official report. 

“This team of investigators who actually handled the wreckage and victims’ bodies, prove that the officially proposed fuel-air explosion did not cause the crash,” the producers said in a statement. “They also provide radar and forensic evidence proving that one or more ordnance explosions outside the aircraft caused the crash.” 

Tom Stalcup, co-producer of the film, told CNN that the documentary provides “solid proof” of the external detonation. 

“Of course, everyone knows about the eyewitness statements, but we also have corroborating information from the radar data, and the radar data shows an asymmetric explosion coming out of that plane – something that didn’t happen in the official theory,” Stalcup added. 

The film’s producers have submitted a petition, demanding that the NTSB reopen its investigation using new evidence provided by the documentary. A number of former investigators have signed the document. The film has the potential to solve the mystery of a deadly crash in which no survivors were left to testify about its cause. Although the retired NTSB investigators do not speculate about the cause of the attack, a previous incident may provide some insight into the realm of possibilities behind it. On October 4, 2001, a Russian commercial airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk crashed in the Black Sea, causing the fatalities of all 78 passengers onboard. A number of reports surfaced after the incident, claiming that a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile was fired at the aircraft. For days, Russian and Ukrainian officials dismissed the theories. But on October 12, officials admitted that the plane had indeed been shot down.

''The metal parts found in the plane and a few of the bodies closely resemble -- in shape and weight -- the shrapnel that stuff the S-200 missile,'' Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, a member of the investigation team, announced in 2001. ''Ukraine's evidence that all missiles fired during the training either hit their targets or self-destructed is not convincing.'' 

Ukrainian officials admitted that they had mistakenly shot down the Russian Tu-154 airliner. The cause of the Tu-154 crash was revealed days after it occurred, but the mystery of the TWA Flight 800 still remains. But with NTSB investigators providing evidence of an external explosion, new details about the 1996 crash may soon arise.