Epstein Secrets

ted for his fantasy games. It was bur- nished so deeply in his self-image that he cited it eight years later, in exaggerated fashion, in Moscow. When Brian Williams, then an NBC anchorman, began an hour-long television interview with Snowden in 2014 by saying, “It seems to me spies probably look a lot more like E

on authorized Greenwald’s trip to Hong Kong on the con- dition that he take with him a Guardian staffer in whom she had confidence, the Scottish-born Ewen MacAskill, a sixty-one-year-old veteran journalist who had been the Washington bureau chief for The Guardian. His assignment was to evaluate the bona fides of

the time. Snowden had little concern about misleading journalists when it suited his purpose. For example, he told Alan Rusbridger of The Guardian, Brian Williams of NBC News, James Bamford of Wired, Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation, Barton Gellman, and Jane Mayer of The New Yorker that the U.S. government i

feature- @ length documentary, Citizenfour, which would be commercially @ released in October 2014 and win an Academy Award for her. The next day, Ewen MacAskill, whom Poitras had not wanted Greenwald to bring to the initial meeting, joined Poitras and Green- wald in Snowden’s room. Snowden insisted that MacAs

019795 308 | Notes to pages 8-23 8 appointment with Robert Tibbo: Tibbo, interviews with author. 11-12 “angel descending”: Snowden, interview with Brian Williams, NBC, May 28, 2014. CHAPTER 1 Tinker 15 “It’s like the boiling frog”: Bamford, “Edward Snowden.” 15 Lon Snowden, like his father: The best reporti

inor subterfuge: Hosenball, “NSA Contractor Hired Snowden Despite Concerns About Resume Discrepancies.” 76 “playing with fire”: Spencer Ackerman and Ewen MacAskill, “Snowden Calls @ for Whistleblower After Claims by New Pentagon Source,” Guardian, May 22, @ 2016. 76 establish a paper trail: Director of Nationa

the time. Snowden had little concern about misleading journalists when it suited his purpose. For example, he told Alan Rusbridger of the Guardian, Brian Williams of NBC News, James Bamford of Wired Magazine, Katrina vanden Heuvel of the Nation, Barton Gellman of the Washington Post and Jane Mayer of Zhe New Yo

e authorized Greenwald’s trip to Hong Kong on the condition that he take with him a Guardian staffer in whom she had confidence. He was Scottish-born Ewen MacAskill, a 61-year old veteran journalist who had been the Washington bureau chief for the Guardian. His assignment was to evaluate the mystery source in Hon

lder of Secrets,” New Yorker, October 20, 2014 3. “This powerful narrative...” See Greenwald, op. cit. pp. 248-254. Snowden “Trapped: Interview with Brian Williams, May 28, 2014, http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/edward-snowden-interview 4. “When two NSA analysts...”—‘“Claim US Spy Caught with Secrets.” Los Angele

need for a face-to-face meeting with Snowden. Even after he had revealed his true identity to Poitras and Greenwald on June 2™ 2013, Guardian editor Ewen MacAskill offered him the option of remaining an unnamed source for the stories. He said, as he later told Vanity Fair. “You should remain anonymous; the stori