Roundup: U.S. Congress Committee report further dims hope of Snowden returning home

A U.S. Congress report Thursday on Edward Snowden, the "whistleblower" about U.S. intelligence aggression against private phone calls, has further dimmed his hope of returning home without being punished.

The report by a Republican-led U.S. House Representative committee said Snowden, a former CIA employee and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who has fled to Russia, is "a serial exaggerator and fabricator" instead of a whistle blower.

The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence condemned Snowden for stealing and leaking 1.5 million classified documents from secure National Security Agency networks.

"The vast majority of the documents he stole have nothing to do with programs impacting individual interests," said the report whose purpose is apparently asking President Barack Obama not to pardon him.

This report just came one day ahead of the release of a film by Oliver Stone based on the true story of Snowden entitled after his name. A number of civil rights groups, artists and writers have also appealed to President Obama to pardon Snowden.

"After years of investigation, the committee still can't point to any remotely credible evidence that Snowden's disclosures caused harm," said Ben Wizner, Snowden's attorney, who said the report is aimed at "discrediting a genuine American hero".

Snowden's revelations about the NSA's collection of millions of Americans' phone records has set off a fierce debate in the United States about violation of private rights by the government in the name of fighting terrorism.

Now, with presidential elections set for Nov. 8, both presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, have expressed strong opposition of pardoning Snowden, saying he must be punished for harming the country's national security. Both are playing hardline cards on national security issue.

The Obama administration has not agreed to give Snowden a presidential pardon, and urged him to return to the United States and face trial immediately.

With his mandate running out in months, Obama would also face judicial obstacles if he intended to pardon Snowden, as according to U.S. law, the president can only pardon a person after he is convicted of a crime by a court.

If Snowden returns to the U.S. to face trial over accusations of treason and espionage, he could be sentenced to 30 years in jail. Endi