Epstein Secrets

hared all of it with the Russians, and they are very grateful.” This assessment was backed by Frants Klintsevich. As the first deputy chairman of the Kremlin’s defense and security committee at the time of Snowden’s defection, he was | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 166 @ 9/29/16 5:51 Pa | | HOUSE

thing more than a temporary stopover on his escape route. Two months later and safely in Moscow, he made this point clear in a lengthy interview with Alan Rusbridger, the editor of The Guard- ian. He told him that it had never been part of his plan to use Hong Kong to escape the legal consequences of his act. “The

T_019753 266 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS Alexander Litvinenko, I had interviewed Andrei Lugovoy. A former KGB officer assigned to protecting the Kremlin’s top members in the 1990s, Lugovoy later opened his own security company. In 2005, he became a business associate of Litvinenko’s in gathering infor

Nation, in 2014. He had already discussed the likelihood of his being captured in Ecuador with Assange before his departure for Moscow. He later told Alan Rusbridger, the editor of The Guardian, that he considered himself at risk in Latin America. So why would Snowden, who told Greenwald that his “first priority”

n with the FSB and other Russian agencies. At the outset, Kucherena made it clear to Snowden that he would have to play by Moscow’s tules before the Kremlin would grant him permission to stay in Russia. To begin with, Snowden had to withdraw any and application he had made elsewhere for asylum. He had to

n his escape route. Two later months later and safely in Moscow, he made this point HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020260 109 clear in a lengthily interview with Alan Rusbridger, the editor of the Guardian. He told him that it never had been part of his plan to use Hong Kong to escape the legal consequences of his act. “The p