The father of Edward Snowden has proposed a deal to Attorney General Eric Holder Eric Himpton HolderThe Hill's Campaign Report: Trump's rally risk | Biden ramps up legal team | Biden hits Trump over climate policy Biden campaign forming 'special litigation' team ahead of possible voting battle Pompeo, Engel poised for battle in contempt proceedings MORE that he says could convince his son to return to the United States.

Lonnie Snowden said his son, Edward, would likely come back to America if he were promised that he could remain free prior to trial, not be subjected to a gag order and be tried in a place of his choosing.



He also proposed that if those terms were violated, the government should agree to dismiss charges against Edward, a former defense contractor who admitted to leaking information about top-secret National Security Agency programs.

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"With these written representations and guarantee, Mr. Snowden is reasonably confident that his son could be persuaded to surrender voluntarily to the jurisdiction of the United States to face trial," wrote Bruce Fein, the Washington attorney for Snowden's father, in the letter to Holder that was obtained by CNN.



Edward Snowden is thought to currently be at the international terminal of the Moscow Airport, where he arrived last weekend after fleeing Hong Kong. He has reportedly requested asylum in Ecuador.

The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

Asked about Snowden on Thursday, President Obama said he would not engage in “wheeling and dealing and trading and a whole host of other issues, simply to get a guy extradited so he can face the justice system here in the United States."

Lonnie Snowden said he has not spoken to his son since April.

"I love him, I would like to have the opportunity to communicate with him. I don't want to put him in peril, but I am concerned about those who surround him," he said in an interview Friday with NBC News.