Epstein Secrets

ll the telegrams coming into the United States. “Its far-seeking eyes penetrate the secret conference chambers at Wash- ington, Tokyo, London, Paris, Geneva, Rome,” Yardley wrote about the Black Chamber. “Its sensitive ears catch the faintest whispering in the foreign capitals of the world.” But in 1929,

intelligence coups through the eyes, and mind-set, of their KGB handler might provide some historical context for the Snowden defection. So I invited Cherkashin to lunch at Gusto, a quiet Italian restaurant, located near the Chekhov Theater in Moscow. Cherkashin, a tall thin man with silver hair, showed up p

ontext for the Snowden defection. So I invited Cherkashin to lunch at Gusto, a quiet Italian restaurant, located near the Chekhov Theater in Moscow. Cherkashin, a tall thin man with silver hair, showed up promptly at 1:00 p.m., wearing an elegant gray suit and dark tie. He walked with a spry step. Because he

ch a security investigation of Snowden but it was aborted when he resigned. He also had incurred large losses speculating in the financial markets in Geneva, which is an activity which had in the past attracted in interest of foreign intelligence services. So it had to be considered in this scenario that

then cited the signature line from the movie Zhe Usual Suspects “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” Cherkashin thinly smiled and said “CIA denial [of moles] certainly helped.” HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020275 124 In view of such past successes of the Russian intellig

mous spy delivered 27 computer discs containing hundreds of secret documents revealing the sources and methods of American intelligence. According to Cherkashin, it was the largest haul of top secrets documents ever obtained by the KGB (although it was only a small fraction of the number of top secret NSA, De

rveillance revelations,” Guardian, June 9, 2013 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020389 238 CHAPTER FIVE Contractor L 10. 11. 12. 13. “Much of what I saw in Geneva...”-- Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Ewen MacAskill, “Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations,” Guardian, June

201 “Tt was the information in his head that we wanted.” Cherkashin said that as KGB rarely got access to any NSA officer, it was worth the risk. So he was given $5,000 in cash and a plane ticket to Vienna, where he w

the NSA would have received its full attention after he contacted Russian officials in Hong Kong. While the tactics of the SVR may have changed since Cherkashin retired, its objectives remained the same. And the NSA remained its principal target. Nor is there any reason to doubt that it still measures success

a security investigation of Snowden, but it was aborted when he resigned. He had also incurred large losses specu- lating in the financial markets in Geneva, which is the kind of activ- ity that had in the past attracted the interest of foreign intelligence services. So it has to be considered in this sce

then cited the signature line from the movie The Usual Suspects, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist,” Cherkashin thinly smiled and said, “CIA denial [of moles] certainly helped.” In view of such past successes of the Russian intelligence services, it cannot be