Most sentient people rationally accept that the U.S. media routinely disseminates misleading stories and outright falsehoods in the most authoritative tones. But it’s nonetheless valuable to examine particularly egregious case studies to see how that works. In that spirit, let’s take yesterday’s numerous, breathless reports trumpeting the “BREAKING” news that “Edward Snowden now wants to come home!” and is “now negotiating the terms of his return!”
Ever since Snowden revealed himself to the public 20 months ago, he has repeatedly said the same exact thing when asked about his returning to the U.S.: I would love to come home, and would do so if I could get a fair trial, but right now, I can’t.
His primary rationale for this argument has long been that under the Espionage Act, the 1917 statute under which he has been charged, he would be barred by U.S. courts from even raising his key defense: that the information he revealed to journalists should never have been concealed in the first place and he was thus justified in disclosing it to journalists. In other words, when U.S. political and media figures say Snowden should “man up,” come home and argue to a court that he did nothing wrong, they are deceiving the public, since they have made certain that whistleblowers charged with “espionage” are legally barred from even raising that defense....The Intercept
The “Snowden is Ready to Come Home!” Story: a Case Study in Typical Media Deceit
Glenn Greenwald
Also
“I've been working exhaustively with the government now since I left to try to find terms of a trial,” he said Wednesday during a live question and answer session organized by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.
However, the former NSA contractor said that because the US government is not at the moment willing to offer him a fair trial, he has no plans to return in the near future....RT, Snowden ‘working exhaustively’ with US to secure terms of trial
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