Epstein Secrets

rested, seek bail and fight extradition in court. Tibbo said he planned to mount a powerful legal defense against extradition by using a provision in Hong Kong’s extradition treaty with the United States that protects fugitives from persecution on political grounds. After he told Snowden that it would entail a

s. They had even relayed his request to go to Russia to Putin. His movements were also no secret to sophisticated intelligence services. In an era in Hong Kong ii which cell phones emit their GPS location every 3 seconds and CCTV cameras scan many street intersections, it is not easy to conceal one’s whereabout

n—I don’t want to, and I can’t,” he later explained. “It’s not my job. It’s not the relationship. Iam a journalist.” Although Gellman suspected that Iceland might be the foreign government in question, Snowden, as it turned, had not ever contacted the consulate of Iceland while he was in Hong Kong. “We ha

d 4 @ 929N6 5:51 Pa | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019492 Prologue | 5 terms of the 1997 transfer of sovereignty from Great Britain, China is responsible for Hong Kong’s defense and foreign policy, includ- ing intelligence services. He then proceeded to Russia, which has no extradition treaty with the United States. R

of the Mira hotel, caught a taxi to the Hong Kong airport, and gone on Swiss International Air Lines via Zurich to any country in South America or to Iceland. But, as in the oft-cited Sherlock Holmes clue of the dog that did not bark, Snowden’s inaction in not obtaining visas during this thirty-day @ peri

ted, seek bail, and fight extradition in court. Tibbo said @ he planned to mount a powerful legal defense against extradition by using a provision in Hong Kong’s extradition treaty with the United States that protects fugitives from persecution on political grounds. After he told Snowden that it would entail a

I don’t want to, and I can’t,” he later explained. “It’s not my job. It’s not the rela- tionship. I am a journalist.” Although Gellman suspected that Iceland might be the foreign government in question, Snowden, as it turned out, had never con- | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 105 @ 9/29/16 5:51 Pa

3 in 2013 made the Chinese intelligence service, willy-nilly, a potential player in whatever game he was involved in. China’s full responsibility for Hong Kong’s national security and foreign affairs includes moni- toring foreign intelligence operatives. Chinese intelligence main- | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_al

lso had such a capability. The Silk Road founder, Ross Ulbricht, discovered to his distress that his Tor software did not make his computer server in Iceland invis- ible. According to a former top official in the Justice Department, the NSA was able to locate it by cracking the Tor software (Ulbricht is cu

d in Hong Kong. Yet, Snowden chose to put his physical safety in the hands of China. One reason why Snowden may not have been overly concerned about Hong Kong’s extradition treaty with the U.S. was that he had never intended to test it by staying in Hong Kong after his media events. Snowden told the editor of

place to meet Greenwald. If some consideration by Snowden precluded Brazil as a destination, Snowden could have also gone to Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba, Iceland, or Venezuela, which are also countries that do not have active extradition treaties with the United States. Yet, instead of proceeding to a country