Snowden’s Father, Defiant, Will Head to Russia

National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s father has plans to visit his son in Russia. Lon Snowden and Snowden-family attorney Bruce Fein did not disclose when they would depart, but said on Sunday they had secured the necessary visas to make the trip.

The elder Snowden also said that he hoped his son would be able to return to the United States at some point, but stopped short of calling for him to return to face felony charges. ”Where my son chooses to live the rest of his life is going to be his decision,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

Snowden’s father added that he will advise his son against entering into a plea bargain with federal authorities. ”I’m not open to it, and that’s what I’ll share with my son,” he said, arguing that the former Booz Allen contractor would not face a fair trial in the United States.

In the face of the president’s remark in Friday’s press conference that his son is “not a patriot,” Snowden took a defiant stance. “My son has spoken the truth, he has sacrificed more than even the president of the United States,” he argued.