Epstein Secrets

ournal. Snowden was certainly aware that he would soon be the object of a manhunt that could involve those with whom he was acquainted. He instructed Poitras to mask their e-mail communications in cyber- space “so we don’t have a clue or record of your true name in your file communication chain.” Such prec

eedoms. Within hours of the release of that video on the Guardian website, Snowden was known throughout the world as a courageous whistle-blower. In Laura Poitras’s remarks in accepting her Academy Award for Citizenfour on February 22, 2015, she said that Snowden acted as a whistle-blower not only to “expose a th

013 while Snowden was still working for Dell at the NSA base in @ Hawaii. At that time, Poitras did not know Snowden’s real name, but @ she informed Wizner that she was in touch with a person identify- ing himself as a senior officer in U.S. intelligence. (Poitras did not know at that time that her sourc

ulu to Moscow. When I later asked Kucherena in Mos- cow why Snowden changed his story in direct contradiction of what Kucherena had stated, he said, “Wizner.” He was referring to Ben Wizner, Snowden’s ACLU lawyer in Washington, D.C. Wizner had joined the ACLU in August 2001 after graduating from NYU Law

h as putting their cell phones in refrigerators, remain visible to a sophisticated intelligence service such as the SVR. All the defensive tactics of Laura Poitras, including PGP encryption, Tor software, and air-gapped computers (computers that have never been connected to the Internet), did not keep secrets ab

rets about her sources entirely to herself. Snowden, at a time when he was stealing NSA secrets in February 2013, went to great lengths to impress on Poitras the need for operational security about his contacts with her, but that injunction did not prevent her from telling at least five people about her so

Snowden’s liaisons with the Russian authorities while Wizner was handling the Snowden narrative, including selecting the media out- lets. Presumably, Wizner had handpicked Snowden’s past interview- ers in Moscow, including Barton Gellmna, James Bamford, Brian Williams, John Oliver, Alan Rusbridger, and Ka

awyer at the ACLU. He made it clear to me that the exposure of Snowden to journalists, or at least the vetting of journalists, had been outsourced to Wizner. Kucherena was handling Snowden’s liaisons with the Russian authorities while Wizner was handling the Snowden narrative, including selecting the medi

illance Under Obama.” Along with it was the FISA warrant to Verizon. The PRISM story broke hours later in the Washington Post. Written by Gellman and Poitras, it claimed that the NSA and FBI were tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S, Internet companies which were knowingly particip

ding such well known activists as Runa Sandvik (who he supplied his true name and address via email), Micah Lee, Jacob Appelbaum, Parker Higgins, and Laura Poitras. “It is not statistically improbable that members of this circle were being watched by a hostile service,” a former NSA counterintelligence officer t

in early 2013, while Snowden was still working for the NSA, from Poitras. At that time, Poitras did not know Snowden’s real name, but she revealed to Wizner that she had found an anonymous source with access to U.S. government surveillance secrets. So he was not completely surprised when Glenn Greenwald,

IGHT_020291 140 When I later asked Kucherena in Moscow why Snowden changed his story in direct contradiction of what Kucherena had stated, he said “Wizner.” He was referring to Ben Wizner, a top-drawer ACLU lawyer based in Washington D.C. Wizner had joined the ACLU in August 2001 after graduating NYU la

ining. His motive was not money, as it was a lower- paying position. At the time, he made this choice he had already set up an encrypted channel with Laura Poitras for the purpose of sending her secret material. But he did not have to change jobs to send her secrets. So what was his purpose in making this fatefu

hed, before switching jobs Snowden had already taken most of the documents pertaining to the NSA’s domestic operations that he could have supplied to Poitras and Greenwald for whistle-blowing purposes. Indeed, while still at Dell, it will be recalled, he had he had told Poitras he had a copy of Presidentia

ited as Ars Technica report.) http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/06/nsa-leaker-ed- snowdens-life-on-ars-technica 8. “Ben Wizner, a lawyer...”-- Wizner called his representation of Snowden the “work of a lifetime.” Kashmir Hill, “How ACLU Lawyer Ben Wizner Became Snowden’s Lawyer,” Forbes, March 10,

s American lawyer. He made it clear to me that the exposure of Snowden to journalists, or at least the vetting of journalists, had been outsourced to Wizner, “After that the final decision is up to Snowden,” he said. That seemed to conclude the interview but, as I got up to leave, he added, “His legal def

vidently did not want to expose himself to prosecution or defect from the NSA. That was Snowden’s role. By accepting the sole blame in the video that Poitras made about him in Hong Kong, Snowden shielded anyone else from suspicion, which was, as he told Poitras, his purpose. Whoever helped him may still be

“Mini Documentary Reveals Full Extent of ‘Stellarwind’ Domestic Spy Program,” Infowars, Aug. 28, 2012. 62 Poitras had other impressive credentials: “Laura Poitras: Secret No Longer,” New School News, Aug. 14, 2013. 63 “I didn’t. You chose yourself”: Snowden’s e-mails to Poitras were extracted from her film Cit

rs Technica.” 117 “an act of civil disobedience”: Mayer, “Snowden Calls Russian-Spy Story ‘Absurd’ in Exclusive Interview.” 117 Ben Wizner, a lawyer: Wizner called his representation of Snowden the “work of a lifetime.” Hill, “How ACLU Lawyer Ben Wizner Became Snowden’s Lawyer.” 118 “We've crossed lines”: