Lawmakers Upset Snowden Received Temporary Asylum in Russia

Call the waaambulance

The White House and U.S. lawmakers fumed Thursday after NSA leaker Edward Snowden apparently was allowed to leave the Moscow airport and enter Russian territory on temporary refugee status. 

"If these reports are accurate, Americans in Washington should consider this a game changer in our relationship with Russia," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement, calling Russia's decision "provocative" and "a sign of Vladimir Putin's clear lack of respect for President Obama." Graham called for the U.S. government to meet the decision with a "firm response," which he did not describe. 

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called it a "slap in the face of all Americans."