>>103576004How wasn't it important?
>>103576898How would they know? If it was just, say, a clip of Jon walking around the facility, played alongside a news report along the lines of "Jon is in the process of psych evaluation due to recent events" or "Jon declines to speak/release a public statement for the time being" it'd be fairly innocuous - although his continued presence would be further implied by the clips, it'd never be outright stated that the particular clips are new/recent. And even then, if done correctly, it'd be impossible to prove they weren't. They had no reason to think someone like Viedt would be scheming around to ensure the truth of his absence would be leaked.
On that note, you wouldn't even need something like a video clip. They could have literally just said "we have not been able to reach Jon for commentary" - and while that would probably make the Soviets suspicious as to his loyalty, it wouldn't be as much of a definitive death-sentence for the States. I mean, who expected he'd leave for fucking Mars? They didn't need to mention he'd "left", let alone "left" for another whole ass planet, ya feel?
