Obama Attempts to Downplay Snowden's Significance

President Obama shrugged Edward Snowden and the National Security Agency leaks off his shoulders Thursday, calling Snowden a "29-year-old hacker" and suggested the pressure Obama and his administration have been placing on China and Russia to extradite the former national security contractor was not worth damaging relations with those countries.

This was the first time Obama has spoken at length about Snowden, and the remarks come at a time where there is a great deal of mystery regarding the NSA whistleblower's location and future travel plans. It had been reported earlierthat Snowden was seeking asylum in Ecuador, but Ecuador's government has not made a direct statement as to whether it's granted Snowden asylum or not.

Obama explained he had not called the presidents of China or Russia on Snowden's case because he didn't want to elevate its importance.

This is something that routinely is dealt with, Obama said about Snowden's case. This is not exceptional from a legal perspective. Im not going to have one case suddenly being elevated to the point where I have to do wheeling and dealing and trading.

He later rejected the suggestion that he might order the U.S. military to intercept any plane that might be carrying Snowden. Im not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker, said Obama.

Snowden's information leak on the top-secret surveillance practices of the National Security Agency have provided a great deal of embarrassment for the Obama administration. Obama and his administration have repeatedly defended the collection of phone records, saying they were being used as a safeguard against terrorism.