Washington, October 2 (RHC)-- The United States government is entitled to more than $5.2 million from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s book royalties, a federal court ruled this week, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a statement issued in Washington, the Justice Department said the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia had also ruled in favor of setting up a trust for the government for any future earnings from Snowden’s book, which had been the subject of a federal lawsuit.

In September 2019, the U.S. government sued Snowden, who resides in Russia, over his publication of Permanent Record, a book which the U.S. says violated non-disclosure agreements he signed when working for both the NSA and the Central Intelligence Agency.

The U.S. alleges Snowden published the book without first submitting it to U.S. agencies for pre-publication review, in violation of agreements he signed when working for the agencies.  U.S. authorities did not seek to block publication of Snowden’s book but rather to seize all proceeds.

Last December, a federal court in Virginia found Snowden did breach his obligations to the CIA and NSA but reserved judgement on possible remedies.  In an order issued earlier his week, the court entered a judgement in the U.S. government’s favor for more than $5.2 million.

The civil litigation over the book is separate from criminal charges prosecutors filed against Edward Snowden under a 1917 U.S. espionage law.