WASHINGTON, August 12 (By Maria Young for RIA Novosti) – Now that he has received a visa from Russian authorities, Lon Snowden, the father of fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, plans to travel to Moscow to meet with his son soon, but “not this week,” said a communications representative for Lon Snowden’s attorney on Monday.
“We do have a confirmed date but we are not releasing it at this time, just because we’re a little concerned about the media frenzy at the airport,” said Mattie Fein, who handles communications for several clients including her husband, Washington attorney Bruce Fein.
Though media reports have indicated the trip was planned for this week, “that would not be accurate,” Mattie Fein told RIA Novosti.
Bruce Fein told RIA Novosti last week that Lon Snowden had hoped to make his visit to Russia by August 17.
“We do not know where he is, obviously, only (Anatoly) Kucherena (Edward Snowden's Russian attorney) does, and that’s for concerns about risking his safety as well as having security,” she added.
Edward Snowden, 30, a former US intelligence contractor, is wanted by the United States on espionage and theft charges after leaking classified information about the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) sweeping telephone and electronic surveillance programs.
He received temporary asylum from Russia earlier this month, a move that has further strained US-Russian relations and prompted an outcry from the administration of US President Barack Obama and members of Congress.
Washington has strongly condemned the decision to give Snowden temporary asylum, and has called on Moscow to send him back to the United States. Last week Obama cancelled a Moscow summit with Putin scheduled for September, citing lack of prospects for progress in the bilateral agenda as well as Moscow’s harboring of Edward Snowden.
Lon Snowden has had no direct contact with his son since he left the United States after releasing secret information about the surveillance programs, said Mattie Fein.
“The key thing is Ed making the best decision about his representation,” she added. “What his father is most concerned about is that he has all the information he needs to select the right person with the experience needed to handle a case like this.”
“We have been talking to attorneys,” Mattie Fein confirmed, but added, “Of course, the decision is Ed’s.”
She also said a Twitter posting from a fake Edward Snowden account claimed on Monday that he was doing his first television interview on Russian National TV Monday night.
“The guy’s on lockdown,” she said. “He’s not tweeting, he’s not posting things on Facebook, but there’s so many fake Edward Snowden accounts out there that it’s almost impossible to know what’s real. I can just tell you, we’ve spoken with Kucherena, he’s confirmed it, there is no television interview tonight. Ed’s not doing any media right now.”
