Epstein Secrets

ew, amass even greater power. Whatever his actual agenda in 2012, we know that he tested pos- sible reactions to a leak exposing NSA surveillance in the United States. He asked fellow workers at the NSA base in 2012, according to his own account, “What do you think the public would do if this [secret data] was on t

ing the Manning files on WikiLeaks.) In Berlin, Appelbaum went to extreme lengths to protect him- self from American surveillance. For example, when George Packer interviewed him for The New Yorker in 2014, he insisted on meet- | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 53 @ 9/29/16 5:51 Pa | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_0

le awaiting his trial and was facing a long prison sentence. There was no reason for Snowden to expect a better outcome for himself if he returned to the United States or was arrested anywhere else that had an extradition treaty with the United States. As the Russian officials in Hong Kong would have informed him, R

te sheets and covers, white head- board, white bathrobe, white skin—Snowden seems like a figure in some obscure ritual, being readied for sacrifice,” George Packer wrote about the film in a widely read article in The New Yorker. This powerful narrative, as lucidly articulated by Poitras, Green- wald, and other

whistle-blowing concept to adversaries was echoed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He complimented Snowden for having “uncovered illegal acts by the United States around the globe,” Putin’s view implies a convenient global concept of whistle-blowing that justified breaking US laws. Even so, this whistle-blower

leased the Manning files on Wikileaks. In Berlin, Appelbaum went to extreme lengths to protect himself from American surveillance. For example, when George Packer interviewed him for the New Yorker, in 2014, he insisted on meeting with Packer naked in a sauna so he could be sure Packer did not have a recording