July 31, 2013 -- Updated 0931 GMT (1731 HKT) NEW: Edward Snowden acted out of patriotism, his father tells The Washington Post Report: Lon Snowden said he did not fly to Russia because he doubted he'd be able to speak to his son (CNN) -- The FBI planned to fly Edward Snowden's father to Moscow to encourage the National Security Agency leaker to come home to the United States, his father told The Washington Post. And it was, 'Well, we're not sure,' " the father told the newspaper Tuesday. In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday, the father said he wants the accused leaker to stay in Russia, until he is confident he can get a fair trial in the United States. Snowden's father: 'I know my son. The multiple guilty verdicts handed to leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning on Tuesday increased his unease, although he says his son's case is "completely different." Snowden a patriot? Edward Snowden, a former employee of a government contractor, leaked to the media that the NSA had secretly collected and stored millions of phone records from accounts in the United States. It also collected information from U.S. companies on the Internet activity of overseas residents, Snowden said. Lawmakers in Washington have built a criminal case against him. Snowden's lawyer, Bruce Fein, who also appeared in the interview with Tapper, objected to the government's intent to prosecute Snowden. The majority of the American people now have voiced grave concerns about the scope of that program. And it seems somewhat odd to be prosecuting somebody for disclosing government wrongdoing. Snowden -- facts, fictions and fears He said that Snowden had the courage to spark a conversation that President Barack Obama has called "urgent." Fein believes it would be impossible to find an "unpoisoned jury" to try his client given the heavy media coverage. He lambasted Washington politicians for speaking of Snowden as if he were guilty, trampling on his right to be considered not guilty until proven otherwise. Lon Snowden told the Post that his son grew up in a patriotic family. Many of his relatives had served in the military or police forces. Lon Snowden said he served in the U.S. Coast Guard. His son acted out of patriotism, he said, knowing that he would suffer personally for his decision to protect Americans' constitutional rights to privacy. Lon Snowden told Tapper that he expects Obama to do the same.