Epstein Secrets

am headed by Richard “Rick” Ledgett, who was then director of the NSA’s Threat Opera- tions Center at the NSA’s headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. Ledgett was the logical choice to head the damage assessment inves- tigation because the center’s regional branch in Hawaii was under his command. Ledgett fl

n camera in his Hong Kong interview in June 2013 that NSA investi- gators would have “a heart attack” when they discovered the extent of the breach. Ledgett, the NSA official who had conducted the damage assess- ment, while not having a heart attack, confirmed that Snowden had taken a massive number of do

ncerning the NSA hacking of the cell phone of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. The story was published on October 23 on the Der Spiegel website. Appelbaum was the co- author of the story. Even though Snowden had by now been in Rus- sia for four months, he was cited in the story, along with unnamed “othe

es to Russia.” 41 Physical Phatness: Lindsay Mills’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com /lindsay.mills.90/about. 42. the first known document: Ledgett revealed this in an interview with Vanity Fair. Burrough, Ellison, and Andrews, “Snowden Saga.” 42 “He stole the [NSA] test”: Snowden’s obtaining th

“I, Spy.” “was moving copies of that data”: Burrough, Ellison, and Andrews, “Snowden Saga.” 45 he later pointed out: Bamford, “Edward Snowden.” 45 Ledgett subsequently reported: Burrough, Ellison, and Andrews, “Snowden Saga.” 45 This theft was made: Michael Hayden, interview with author. 46 “Icrossed

trick, Privacy for Me and Not for Thee, pt. 6. 52 “the state is all-powerful”: Fitzpatrick, introduction to ibid. 53 “Meet the Most Dangerous Man”: Appelbaum, interview with Rolling Stone, “Meet the Most Dangerous Man in Cyberspace: The American Behind WikiLeaks,” Rolling Stone, Dec. 2, 2010. 53 In Berlin

ell was transferring files held at Fort Meade to backup computers in Hawaii. He “was moving copies of that data there for them,” said Deputy Director Ledgett, “which was perfect cover for stealing the [NSA] data” through the fall and winter of 2012. The security mea- sures at the Hawaii base presented no o

or was Jacob Appelbaum, a charismatic twenty-eight-year-old who had grown up in Northern California. Like Snowden, he had dropped out of high school. Appelbaum identified himself to his followers on @ the Internet as a “hacktivist” battling state surveillance. For him, as @ for many in the hacktivist cultur

position since the top- secret unit was responsible for discovering and countering the threats posed by Chinese, Russian and other adversary nations. Ledgett was also the logical choice to head the damage assessment investigation since the Center’s regional branch in Hawaii was from where highly-sensitive

TOR movement was Jacob Appelbaum, a charismatic 28-year old who had grown up in northern California. Like Snowden, he had dropped out of high school. Appelbaum identified himself to his followers on the Internet as a “hacktivist” battling state surveillance. For him, as with many in the hacktavist culture, t

se “bread crumbs” were missed by the NSA according to its statement. It is within the realm of possibility that the NSA Damage Assessment team under Ledgett falsified its finding to inflate the number of documents that Snowden stole. NSA executives also might have lied to Congress to the same end. But why

len documents, Wikileaks became a media sensation and Assange, the runner-up for Zime’s Man-of-the Year for 2010, became a leading figure, along with Appelbaum, in the global hacktavist underground. In November 2010, however, he also ran into a legal problem. A judge in Stockholm, Sweden ordered his detentio

ld walk out the door,” Snowden interview, German NDR TV, January 26, 2014. http://www.tagesschau.de/snowden-interview- englisch100.pdf “According to Ledgett, the perpetrator...” Tabassum Zakaria and Warren Strobel, “After 'cataclysmic' Snowden affair, NSA faces winds of change,” Reuters December 13, 2013

ing Stone interview with Jacob Appelbaum, “Meet the Most Dangerous Man in Cyberspace: The American Behind Wikileaks, Rolling Stone, December 2,2010 “Appelbaum acted to defeat-...”—George Packer, The Holder of Secrets, The New Yorker, October 20, 2014 “She identified herself in Forbes...’”—Runa A Sandvik, F