The Obama administration has acknowledged it had advance notice British officials were going to detain David Miranda, the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has revealed the National Security Agency’s massive spy practices. Miranda was held Sunday at London’s Heathrow Airport under Section 7 of the British Terrorism Act for nine hours — the maximum time he could be detained without charge. White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the United States knew about his detention ahead of time.

Josh Earnest: “There was a heads-up that was provided by the British government. So this — again, this is something that we had an indication was likely to occur, but it’s not something that we’ve requested. And it’s something that was done specifically by the — by the British law enforcement officials there.”