"There are negotiations¹," Snowden's German lawyer Wolfgang Kaleck told Der Spiegel. "Those who know the case are aware that an amicable²（友善的） agreement with the US authorities will be most reasonable."

 

All efforts are now focused on finding a solution acceptable for Edward Snowden, at least in the medium term, according to Kaleck, who is also secretary-general for the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

 

Meanwhile, former NSA contractor³ isn’t involved in these negotiations, according to Kaleck, who added that his client never acted selfishly and caused no damage.

 

At Kaleck’s request, the NSA investigation⁴ committee in the German Bundestag, a constitutional and legislative⁵ body, is currently clarifying with the Cabinet of Germany (Bundesregierung) if the whistleblower can enter and testify there.

 

Reports that the famous whistleblower wants to come back to the US and was seeking high-ranked lawyer to negotiate his return first emerged in April. The New York Times wrote that during the summer of 2013, Snowden was seeking the assistance of DC-based attorney Plato Cacheris to negotiate a plea deal with federal prosecutors⁶ that would allow Snowden to return to the US as well as spare him significant prison time.

 

Snowden, while employed by the NSA, took up to 1.7 million classified files on US vast surveillance apparatus⁷（装置，设备） and intelligence gathering⁸ methods.

点击收听单词发音