Epstein Secrets

ties, could do immense damage to Western intelligence. Indeed, he said as much once he got to Moscow. In respect to China alone, he told James Risen, the New York Times’ national security reporter, in October 2013 that he had had “access to every [NSA] target, every [NSA] active operation” that could turn out the NSA’

ews with Tyler Drumheller 6. “Snowden’s superior had suspected...”-- Eric Schmitt, “C.L.A. Warning on Snowden in ’09 Said to Slip Through the Cracks, New York Times, October 10, 2013 7. “The discrepancy was explained. ..”—Author’s interview with Source H. 8. “Snowden blamed his career-ending...”— Snowden was int

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020421 270 14. “From the 127-page...”--David Larter and Andrew Tilghman, “Military clearance OPM data breach ‘absolute calamity' ,” Navy Times, June 18, 2015 15. “It is next to impossible...”--Bruce Schneier quoted in Homer Jenkins, “The Anti-Hero of Silk Road.” Wall Street Journal, June 3,

201 “Tt was the information in his head that we wanted.” Cherkashin said that as KGB rarely got access to any NSA officer, it was worth the risk. So he was given $5,000 in cash and a plane ticket to Vienna, where he w

the NSA would have received its full attention after he contacted Russian officials in Hong Kong. While the tactics of the SVR may have changed since Cherkashin retired, its objectives remained the same. And the NSA remained its principal target. Nor is there any reason to doubt that it still measures success

rust,” Cryptologic Almanac 50th Anniversary Series (NSA), Feb. 28, 2003. 220 Victor Norris Hamilton: “American Defector Is Found in Russian Prison,” New York Times, June 4, 1992. 220 He was found dead: Edward Jay Epstein, “The Spy Wars,” New York Times, Sept. 28, 1980. 222 Harold Nicholson: Elizabeth Farnswort

cknowledges: Bamford, “Edward Snowden.” 154 “absence of evidence”: Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), 49. 154 “The greatest trick”: Cherkashin, interview with author. The quotation from The Usual Suspects was adopted by the movie from Charles Baudelaire’s observation “La plus belle des rus

th author. Cuarter 25 Through the Looking Glass 254 “There's definitely a deep state”: Vanden Heuvel and Cohen, “Snowden Speaks.” 255 according to Cherkashin: Cherkashin, interview with author. 258 Pelton had left the NSA: George E. Curry, “Ex-intelligence Expert Guilty of Espionage,” Chicago Tribune, Jun

and Harrison. October 10 | Snowden aided by ACLU legal team put together by Ben Wizner October 16 Snowden interviewed, via Internet, by James Risen (VY Times) November I Snowden joins the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation November 3 Sarah Harrison departs from Moscow. December 21 Snowden meets

then cited the signature line from the movie Zhe Usual Suspects “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” Cherkashin thinly smiled and said “CIA denial [of moles] certainly helped.” HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020275 124 In view of such past successes of the Russian intellig

mous spy delivered 27 computer discs containing hundreds of secret documents revealing the sources and methods of American intelligence. According to Cherkashin, it was the largest haul of top secrets documents ever obtained by the KGB (although it was only a small fraction of the number of top secret NSA, De