HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019556.jpg
1.64 MB
Extraction Summary
5
People
4
Organizations
1
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book page / proof / congressional record
File Size:
1.64 MB
Summary
This document appears to be page 68 from the book 'How America Lost Its Secrets' (likely by Edward Jay Epstein, based on the filename 'Epst_...'). It details the initial communications between Edward Snowden and filmmaker Laura Poitras regarding the leak of NSA surveillance documents. The text describes Snowden's disclosure of 'Presidential Policy 20' and the intense psychological stress Poitras experienced fearing government raids. The document includes a House Oversight Bates stamp, indicating it was part of a congressional inquiry.
People (5)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Snowden | Whistleblower / Source |
Referred to as 'He' and 'Snowden'; communicating with Poitras; working as system administrator at Dell.
|
| Laura Poitras | Activist Filmmaker / Journalist |
Referred to as 'She', 'Her', and 'Poitras'; recipient of Snowden's leaks; feeling stressed and under surveillance.
|
| Barack Obama | President of the United States |
Implicated by Snowden in illegal surveillance; signed a directive in October 2012.
|
| Julian Assange | Interview Subject |
Interviewed by Poitras for her documentary project.
|
| Jacob Appelbaum | Interview Subject |
Interviewed by Poitras for her documentary project.
|
Organizations (4)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| White House |
Created the policy framework for cyber operations.
|
|
| NSA |
National Security Agency; employed executives interviewed by Poitras; potential surveillance actor.
|
|
| Dell |
Employer of Edward Snowden where he worked as a system administrator.
|
|
| U.S. Government |
Entity Poitras feared was 'out to get her'.
|
Timeline (2 events)
October 2012
President Obama signed an eighteen-page directive (Presidential Policy 20).
White House
Locations (1)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of the 'surveillance state' and national security breach.
|
Relationships (2)
Snowden contacting Poitras via email to leak classified documents.
Documentary project included interviews by her with Assange.
Key Quotes (4)
"US are betraying the trust of their customers, which I can prove."Source
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Quote #1
"There is a detailed policy framework, a kind of martial law for cyber operations, created by the White House. It's called presidential policy 20"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019556.jpg
Quote #2
"No one, not even my most trusted confidante, is aware of my intentions, and it would not be fair for them to fall under suspicion for my actions"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019556.jpg
Quote #3
"I am battling with my nervous system. It doesn't let me rest or sleep. Eye twitches, clenched throat, and now literally waiting to be raided."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019556.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,497 characters)
68 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS
US are betraying the trust of their customers, which I can prove."
He even proffered evidence implicating President Barack Obama in
illegal surveillance. "There is a detailed policy framework, a kind of
martial law for cyber operations, created by the White House. It's
called presidential policy 20," he wrote to her. It was an eighteen-
page directive that Obama had signed four months earlier in Octo-
ber 2012. Snowden was offering to reveal to her up-to-date evidence
of a surveillance state in America presided over by the president
himself. It was what she had been searching for over the past three
years. How could she, as an activist filmmaker, resist such a sensa-
tional offer?
He further explained to her that he had placed great trust in her
discretion. "No one, not even my most trusted confidante, is aware
of my intentions, and it would not be fair for them to fall under sus-
picion for my actions," he said.
Poitras must have found it flattering that a total stranger was
willing to disclose to her in e-mails what he would not tell even his
"most trusted confidante" about his intentions to commit an illicit
breach of U.S. national security. It also put her under enormous
stress. She noted in her journal that the pressure made her feel as if
she were "underwater." "I am battling with my nervous system. It
doesn't let me rest or sleep. Eye twitches, clenched throat, and now
literally waiting to be raided."
Snowden was also taking an extraordinary risk. After all, he had
no way of knowing who else she told about him. She had long been
concerned, with good reason, that the U.S. government was out to
get her. An unknown person offering to supply her with secret docu-
ments could be attempting to entrap her. So Snowden could not pre-
clude the possibility that she would consult with others about the
offer he was making her. Because her current documentary project
included interviews by her with Assange, Appelbaum, and three ex-
NSA executives, intelligence services with sophisticated surveillance
capabilities might also have taken a professional interest in her com-
munications, as Poitras herself had suspected. Even if Snowden was
somehow able to use his position as a system administrator at Dell
to ascertain that the NSA did not have Poitras under surveillance, he
could not be sure that other agencies, such as the Russian and Chi-
He even proffered evidence implicating President Barack Obama in
illegal surveillance. "There is a detailed policy framework, a kind of
martial law for cyber operations, created by the White House. It's
called presidential policy 20," he wrote to her. It was an eighteen-
page directive that Obama had signed four months earlier in Octo-
ber 2012. Snowden was offering to reveal to her up-to-date evidence
of a surveillance state in America presided over by the president
himself. It was what she had been searching for over the past three
years. How could she, as an activist filmmaker, resist such a sensa-
tional offer?
He further explained to her that he had placed great trust in her
discretion. "No one, not even my most trusted confidante, is aware
of my intentions, and it would not be fair for them to fall under sus-
picion for my actions," he said.
Poitras must have found it flattering that a total stranger was
willing to disclose to her in e-mails what he would not tell even his
"most trusted confidante" about his intentions to commit an illicit
breach of U.S. national security. It also put her under enormous
stress. She noted in her journal that the pressure made her feel as if
she were "underwater." "I am battling with my nervous system. It
doesn't let me rest or sleep. Eye twitches, clenched throat, and now
literally waiting to be raided."
Snowden was also taking an extraordinary risk. After all, he had
no way of knowing who else she told about him. She had long been
concerned, with good reason, that the U.S. government was out to
get her. An unknown person offering to supply her with secret docu-
ments could be attempting to entrap her. So Snowden could not pre-
clude the possibility that she would consult with others about the
offer he was making her. Because her current documentary project
included interviews by her with Assange, Appelbaum, and three ex-
NSA executives, intelligence services with sophisticated surveillance
capabilities might also have taken a professional interest in her com-
munications, as Poitras herself had suspected. Even if Snowden was
somehow able to use his position as a system administrator at Dell
to ascertain that the NSA did not have Poitras under surveillance, he
could not be sure that other agencies, such as the Russian and Chi-
Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 68 9/29/16 5:51 PM
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