House Speaker rejects Olymbic boycott over Snowden

Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled Wednesday that he expected the broader bilateral relationship with the United States to be unharmed if Russia granted asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor on the run from U.S. authorities. In reply to a question about the implications of Snowden’s case for relations with the United States, Putin accused Washington of hypocrisy by providing robust support for human rights advocates in other circumstances but not in a case like Snowden’s, in which the United States is being criticized. “Bilateral relations, in my opinion, are much more important than the squabbles around the activities of the security services,” Putin said. Prominent Russian officials including Putin have made clear that they view Snowden as an advocate for human rights and a crusader for personal liberties. At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said that the U.S. agrees with Putin that Snowden’s case needn’t and shouldn’t harm U.S.-Russian relations.“It’s a broad and important relationship,” Carney said. “We want to continue to see that relationship strengthened.”

House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday soundly rejected suggestions that the United States boycott the Winter Olympics in Sochi if Russia grants asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

“Why would we want to punish U.S. athletes who’ve been training for three years to compete in the Olympics over a traitor who can’t find a place to call home?” Boehner told reporters at a news conference.

The Ohio Republican was asked about Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s idea that if Russia provides a safe haven for Snowden, the United States should consider keeping its athletes home during the 2014 Winter Olympics next February.

Boehner said Graham was “dead wrong.”

Snowden, who disclosed details about U.S. intelligence surveillance of Internet activity, has applied for temporary asylum in Russia three weeks after arriving at a Moscow airport from Hong Kong. The United States wants Snowden sent home to face prosecution for espionage.

In the 1980s, the United States boycotted the Olympics over Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. The U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement Wednesday that it strongly opposes the idea that a boycott is in the country’s best interest.

“If there are any lessons to be learned from the American boycott of 1980, it is that Olympic boycotts do not work,” said committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky. “Our boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games did not contribute to a successful resolution of the underlying conflict. It did, however, deprive hundreds of American athletes, all whom had completely dedicated themselves to representing our nation at the Olympic Games, of the opportunity of a lifetime.”