Epstein Secrets

lly given the “authority” at the NSA to intercept President Obama’s private communications, which, according to an

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019604 The Great Divide | 117 Barack Obama’s presidency, there were six government emp

rance, even to the extent of meretriciously claiming in the video that he had been personally given the “authority” at the NSA to intercept President Obama’s private communications, which, according to an NSA spokeswoman, was not true. No NSA employee, and certainly no civilian contract worker, was given

e almost always prosecuted. During | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 116 @ 9/29/16 5:51PM | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019604 The Great Divide | 117 Barack Obama’s presidency, there were six government employees who, as a matter of personal conscience, shared classified informa- tion they obtained from the FBI,

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

s sword. “Ulti- mately, I’m accountable.” Because President Obama did not want the head of the NSA resigning in the

nder tendered his resignation on June 30, 2013. “I’m the director,” he said, falling on his sword. “Ulti- mately, I’m accountable.” Because President Obama did not want the head of the NSA resigning in the midst of the Snowden crisis, he asked him to stay on for another six months. He then appointed Roge

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

E_OVERSIGHT_019789 302 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS even though they had been isolated from any network. This innova- tion had provided President Obama and his national security team an edge of which our adversaries were unaware from 2008 to 2013. However, Snowden deliberately nullified this advantag

from any network. This innova- tion had provided President Obama and his national security team an edge of which o

cknowledges: Bamford, “Edward Snowden.” 154 “absence of evidence”: Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), 49. 154 “The greatest trick”: Cherkashin, interview with author. The quotation from The Usual Suspects was adopted by the movie from Charles Baudelaire’s observation “La plus belle des rus

th author. Cuarter 25 Through the Looking Glass 254 “There's definitely a deep state”: Vanden Heuvel and Cohen, “Snowden Speaks.” 255 according to Cherkashin: Cherkashin, interview with author. 258 Pelton had left the NSA: George E. Curry, “Ex-intelligence Expert Guilty of Espionage,” Chicago Tribune, Jun

enwald’s byline, it said: “Exclusive: Top Secret Court Order Requesting Verizon To Hand Over Call Data Shows The Scale of Domestic Surveillance Under Obama.” Along with it was the FISA warrant to Verizon. The PRISM story broke hours later in the Washington Post. Written by Gellman and Poitras, it claimed

nd the U.S. Since its President had just met with President Obama in California, China also had an interest in avoi

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

while still at Dell, it will be recalled, he had he had told Poitras he had a copy of Presidential Policy Directive 20, a document in which President Obama authorized the NSA to tap into fiber cables crossing the United States. Snowden described it to her as “a kind of martial law for cyber operations, c

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