US spy 'open to cutting deal with Snowden'

THE head of a task force investigating the damage from the Edward Snowden leaks says he's open to cutting an amnesty deal with the US intelligence leaker.

Wanted . . . Edward Snowden, a former intelligence contractor for the NSA, has been charged with espionage by US authorities ...

A NATIONAL Security Agency official has said in an interview he would be open to cutting an amnesty deal with US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden if the fugitive agreed to stop divulging secret documents.

Rick Ledgett, who heads the NSA's task force investigating the damage from the Snowden leaks, told CBS television's 60 Minutes program that some but not all of his colleagues share his view.

"My personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about'' a possible deal, said Ledgett, according to excerpts of the interview due to air on Sunday.

But Snowden would have to provide firm assurances that the remaining documents would be secured.

"My bar for those assurances would be very high... more than just an assertion on his part,'' said Ledgett.

Snowden, a former intelligence contractor for the NSA, has been charged with espionage by US authorities for divulging reams of secret files.

He has secured asylum in Russia and insisted he spilled secrets to spark public debate and expose the NSA's far-reaching surveillance.

But NSA chief General Keith Alexander rejects the idea of any amnesty for Snowden.

"This is analogous to a hostage-taker taking 50 people hostage, shooting 10 and then say 'You give me full amnesty and I'll let the other 40 go'," Alexander told 60 Minutes.

Alexander said an amnesty deal would set a dangerous precedent for any future leakers.

The four-star general, who is due to retire next year, also said he offered his resignation after the leak but that it was not accepted by President Barack Obama's administration.

Snowden reportedly stole 1.7 million classified documents and Ledgett said he "wouldn't dispute'' that figure.

About 58,000 of the documents taken by Snowden have been passed to news media outlets, according to the editor of Britain's Guardian newspaper.

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