Epstein Secrets

ed. The FBI always had this power, if it obtained a warrant, but it did not previously have the “haystack” of records in a single database. Gen- eral Keith Alexander, who headed the NSA between 2005 and 2014, believed that maintaining such a haystack database made sense. “His approach was, ‘Let’s collect the whole

ism, which was backed by the Internet billion- aire Pierre Omidyar. Poitras remained in Hong Kong, where she moved, along with the Guardian reporter MacAskill, to the five-star Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, which, like the Mira hotel, was on Nathan Road in Kowloon. The Guardian paid the bill. Her next

skill, whom Poitras had not wanted Greenwald to bring to the initial meeting, joined Poitras and Green- wald in Snowden’s room. Snowden insisted that MacAskill also go through the ritual of stowing his cell phone in the minibar refrigera- tor. Not without irony, Snowden’s own phone can be seen on his bed rec

the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force cyber forces, were merged together in this new command put under the command of the NSA director. NSA director Keith Alexander became the first director of this new command. One problem for the Cyber command was separating attacks by civilians, including criminals, hacktavist

ial journalism which was backed by Internet billionaire Pierre Omidyar. Poitras remained in Hong Kong, where she moved, along with Guardian reporter MacAskill, to the five-star Sheraton Hong Kong Tower, which, like the Mira hotel, was on Nathan Road in Kowloon. Her next task was to set up what was to be Sno

ugh Snowden had greatly exaggerated the positions he held with the CIA and DIA, no effort was made to check them by the team of journalists. Instead, MacAskill wrote Janine Gibson in New York “The Guinness is good.” It was a pre-arranged code by which MacAskill certified Snowden’s credibility for the Guardia

ong, 2014 3, “No Such Agency”: The best description of the birth of the NSA can be found in Bamford, Puzzle Palace, 1-4. 4 the NSA learned: General Keith Alexander, interview with author. 4 twelve-minute video: This video can be seen at http://www.theguardian.com /world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edwar

n.” 27 “through the system”: Burrough, Ellison, and Andrews, “Snowden Saga.” CHAPTER 3 Contractor 28 “Much of what I saw”: Greenwald, Poitras, and MacAskill, “Edward Snowden.” 30 This “free pass”: Tyler Drumheller, interview with author. 30 “So the guy with whom the CIA”: Morell, Great War of Our Time,

_—_As a result, Morell concluded “Snowden’s disclosures will go down in history as the greatest compromise of classified information ever.” General Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA at the time, came to a very similar assessment, asserting that Snowden did “the greatest damage to our combined nations’ intelli

urnalists with the atmospherics of “an international spy thriller,” as Greenwald subsequently described the instructions. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020250 | MacAskill had stayed at the W Hotel when Poitras and Greenwald Poitras went to the Mira Hotel. Poitras did not want to bring along an uninvited guest to the fi

an be found in James Bamford, The Puzzle Palace, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1982, pp. 1-4 “the NSA learned ...”—Author Interview with General Keith Alexander “12 minute video ...”——This extraordinary video can be seen at http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-

USE_OVERSIGHT_020392 241 CHAPTER SEVEN Crossing the Rubicon 1. “What I came to feel...” —Snowden quoted in “I, Spy: Edward Snowden in Exile,’Ewen MacAskill and Alan Rusbridger, The Guardian, July 18, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/18/-sp-edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower- interview-transc