5
Shared Docs
5
Same-Page
5 / 9
Mentions
oon came from Snowden’s Moscow lawyer. On Sep- tember 23, Anatoly Kucherena was extensively interviewed on the RT channel in Russia. The interviewer, Sophie Shevardnadze, who had a show called SophieCo, was a well-admired journalist. She is the granddaughter of Eduard Shevardnadze, a former foreign minis- | | Epst_97
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
herena before giving up. I also learned from a Russian researcher that Kucherena had not given a single interview since his television interview with Sophie Shevardnadze on September 23, 2013. And no Russian journalist, or ary Moscow-based foreign journalist, had ever obtained an interview with Snowden. At this point,
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
om his Moscow lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena. On September 23, 2013, Kucherena had an extensive interviewed on the state owned RT channel. The interviewer Sophie Shevardnadze, who had a show on RT Television, called “Sophie & Co,” was well-admired journalist in her own right. She is also the grand-daughter of Edward Shevar
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
ng up. I also learned from a Russian researcher that Kucherena had not given a single interview to any journalist since his television interview with Sophie Shevardnadze on September 23, 2013. And no Russian journalist, or any Moscow-based foreign journalist, had ever obtained an interview with Snowden. At this point,
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
: Glenn Greenwald, “Email Exchange Between Edward Snowden and Former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey,” Guardian, July 16, 2013. 171 An answer soon came: Sophie Shevardnadze, “’Snowden Believes He Did Everything Right’: Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena,” SophieCo, RT television, Sept. 23, 2013, //www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/snowden
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”:
Entities connected to both Sophie Shevardnadze and Wizner

Barack Obama
PERSON
Hawaii
LOCATION
Bamford
PERSON
Assange
ORGANIZATION
Keith Alexander
PERSON
Department of Justice
ORGANIZATION
Glenn Greenwald
PERSON
George Mitchell
PERSON
Barton Gellman
PERSON
Woody Allen
PERSON
Vladimir Putin
PERSON
Mitch McConnell
PERSON
Lana Lam
PERSON
Alan Dershowitz
PERSON
Laura Poitras
PERSON
Aeroflot
ORGANIZATION
Shevardnadze
PERSON
James Bamford
PERSON
Sarah Harrison
PERSONCherkashin
PERSON