Epstein Secrets

procrastination—known universally as "kicking the can down the road"—Europe has reached the moment of truth. It's binary. Either German Chancellor Angela Merkel has to bow to the logic of her predecessor but one, Helmut Kohl, who always saw monetary union as a route to federalism, or it's EFTA_R1_02204146

th. It's binary. Either German Chancellor Angela Merkel has to bow to the logic of her predecessor but o

gy bill, a trade agreement, and a bankruptcy-reform bill. But the remainder of his Presidency was consumed by scandal (the Valerie Plame case, the N.S.A.'s warrantless wiretapping program, the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys for political reasons) and by badly managed catastrophes (Katrina, deteriorat

ywhere." The greater damage, in his view, was the way the leaks heightened suspicions among foreign leaders. Obama enjoyed a good relationship with Angela Merkel, but he admitted that it was undermined by reports alleging that the U.S. tapped her cell phone. This, he said, felt "like a breach of trust and I

s. Obama enjoyed a good relationship with Angela Merkel, but he admitted that it was undermined by repor

Administration's aggressive leak investigations, which have ensnared journalists and sources, and its hostility to Edward Snowden's exposure of the N.S.A.'s blanket surveillance of American and foreign communications. After a long pause, Obama began to speak of how his first awareness of politics cam

s expose purported U.S. government actions in foreign lands, including the alleged tapping of friendly government officials’ con- versations, such as Angela Merkel’s, these are implicitly conflated with the NSA’s domestic surveillance program, around which a | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.indd 303 @ 9/30/16 8:1

ficial who requested anonymity, inter- view with author. 183 German federal prosecutor: Theodore Schleifer, “Germany Drops Probe into U.S. Spying on Merkel,” CNN Politics, June 13, 2015. 184 “Russian planners might have”: Adam Entous, Julian E. Barnes, and Siobhan Gorman, “U.S. Scurries to Shore Up Spy

Do What It Does—It Makes Us Safer,” Press of Atlantic City, Jan. 8, 2014. It made leading hacktivists: Charlie Savage et al., “Hunting for Hackers, N.S.A. Secretly Expands Internet Spying at U.S. Border,” New York Times, Jane 4, 2015. “one of the most regulated”: De, “Former NSA Lawyer on ‘Harm’ of Edw

ve...”—Author’s interview with Source B 30. “German federal prosecutor concluded. ..”-- Theodore Schleifer, “Germany drops probe into U.S. spying on Merkel,” CNN Politics, June 13, 2015 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020412 261 31. “ NSA lost sight of. ..”-- Adam Entous, Julian E. Barnes and Siobhan Gorman, “U.S. S

Atlantic City, January 8, 2014 “Tt made leading hacktavists...”-- Charlie Savage, Julia Angwin, Jeff Larson and Henrik Moltke, “Hunting for Hackers, N.S.A. Secretly Expands Internet Spying at U.S. Border,” New York Times, June 4, 2015 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020417 266 13. , Rajesh De, the NSA’s ...”—Rajesh D