Snowden Inexplicably Hires A Lawyer With Ties to Russian Intelligence Agency

[arely staircase]

We recently learned that in conjunction with seeking asylum in Russia, a move that, itself, is a serious head-scratcher, Snowden has also retained a Russian lawyer: a man named Anatoly Kucherena. Fine, in and of itself. The man needs a lawyer. But it’s an utterly bizarre move considering that Kucherena reportedly sits on the Public Council for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Until 1995, the FSB was known as the Federal Counter-Intelligence Service (FSK). Before that, it was two agencies: the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and the Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information (FAPSI). And before that? It was the Committee of State Security. The acronym: KGB.

......

Now, couple all of this with what Glenn Greenwald said about Snowden’s “dead man switch.” Snowden apparently told Greenwald that there are many more documents in the hacker’s possession that could do serious harm to the United States, and if Snowden is assassinated or tortured, those documents would be released. Greenwald added that the United States should be “on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden” because Snowden could “cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had.”

And now Snowden is being advised and aided by a Putin crony. Strange bedfellows — that is if we’re to believe Snowden’s anti-surveillance posture. (Based on his old internet chats, he used to be quite a surveillance supporter who thought one leaker should’ve been “shot in the balls.”) So at this point, Snowden and his new pals in Russian intelligence retain purview over documents that could do more damage to the United States than anyone else has done — ever.

http://thedailybanter.com/2013/07/snowden-inexplicably-hires-a-lawyer-with-ties-to-russian-intelligence-agency/

[Mojorabbit]

1. That website has an obsession with Snowden.nt

[arely staircase]

2. If you call good writing regarding him an obsession, sure

so what do you think about Snowden and his computers full of info that can damage the US worse than "anyone ever" according to Greenwald crawling in bed with Russian intel services?

[Mojorabbit]

3. We can disagree about the agenda and the quality of writing.nt

[leftstreet]

4. Did you want him to hire a personal injury lawyer? A maritime lawyer?

Maybe an environmental specialist?



Sounds like a good pick to me

[flamingdem]

6. Please read the article!

You can't be serious.

[leftstreet]

7. Link doesn't work. OMG did Snowden hack it?!

[flamingdem]

8. figured you didn't read it

[leftstreet]

10. How did you read it if the link doesn't work? n/t

[flamingdem]

12. You're right, the site is slow but it works now nt

[arely staircase]

16. oh, you mean in the OP?

It is working for me?

[arely staircase]

14. try this

http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-great-leak-forward.html

[flamingdem]

5. This is telling about Greenwald's lack of concern

from comments:

There was an interview yesterday with GG in China, talking mostly about himself, but also yammering on about Snowden. In any case, at one point he reveals that among the docs he has (those Snowden has copied to him) are lists with names of covert CIA agents.

So now, Snowden is in Russia, in bed with KGB, with apparently a huge amount of information....including lists of CIA agents. http://driftglass.blogspot.com

Beyond the stupidity of that situation: Why did Snowden gather those lists in the first place, and why
would he give them to Greenwald?

(Start at about 3:03 if you don't want to watch the whole thing)
Chinese State Television Reporter (CST who has already talked to Snowden) asks:....".and how do you make those decisions? We have heard from Edward Snowden, that amoungst the materials he's got, are for example the names and identities of undercover CIA operatives?
Greenwald then confirms it.

[arely staircase]

9. I just got through watching it. It is clear that

Greenwald is probably not stupid enough to print CIA agents' names but also pretty clear that he and Snowden have them, which means the Russians and probably Chinese have them now too.

[flamingdem]

11. Leftstreet just pointed out that the link doesn't work?

Didn't for me either now.

[arely staircase]

15. try this, it works for me

http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-great-leak-forward.html

[Igel]

22. Very little is clear.

In this, I give nobody the benefit of the doubt. Mostly because Snowden used up every last bit of it and went severely into "doubt debt" when got a job with a security clearance under false pretenses.

When a "patriot" is willing to completely ignore an oath, the trust of his coworkers, and federal statutes, saying that "it's clear" that there's obviously a line that they won't cross strikes me as a bit of a stretch. We want it to be clear. But that's a different matter entirely.

We went ballistic over the outing of one agent who was rarely overseas and worked primarily as an analysis because, we claimed, it was possible that some of her informants or network would be affected. It was cumbersome, expensive, difficult, and put US covert activities at risk to replace these informants, even though there was scant evidence they were outed abroad or any harm came to them. Plame.

If Snowden has names of covert agents don't you think that perhaps the NSA and others have been frantically checking logs to see whose names, exactly, he has, and then trying to repair the damage before it puts agents' lives at risk? If it was cumbersome, expensive, difficult, and put US covert activities at risk for that one agent, what do you think it would be for multiple agents? And not just the ones that Snowden can be shown to have, but all those that he *might* have?

But Plame involved partisan politics, so it would make sense that the rhetoric would be hyperbolic, while we manage to spin Snowden as partisan politics (if we can blame Bush II), a moral and civil rights issue (if it's hard to make the Bush II accusation stick convincingly), or simply ignore partisan politics because it's systemic and somehow beyond the CiC's control.

[Cha]

21. Does Greenwald have a clue about

the freaking fire he's playing at?

[rhett o rick]

30. Does Herr Gen Clapper have a clue re. the fire he is playing at? nm

[Cha]

36. yes, I imagine he does unlike fucking greenwald.

[rhett o rick]

37. But of course you'd stick up for the authoritarian and not the journalist. nm

[GeorgeGist]

17. In related news ...

A situation in which a mother has to answer for her son’s opposition activity is manifestly unlawful, says Anatoly Kucherena, representative of Russia’s federal Public Chamber commission on law enforcement agencies control and judicial-legal system reforms. “And in general – what does ‘compromising information’ mean? If the police have suspicions upon which to begin criminal proceedings, they should work to file that case. If there’s no basis to do so, then a person and their relatives have the right to live a normal life,” Kucherena said.

http://www.theotherrussia.org/2011/09/07/the-unreliable-citizens-of-st-petersburg/

[arely staircase]

20. he's a busy guy

Kucherena was also the lawyer for a pro-Putin filmmaker named Nikita Mikhalkov who publicly supported a plan for Putin to remain in office even after his term had expired.

There’s still more. Kucherena is the founder of the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation, a conservative think-tank that was established in part by the Krelim as a PR front. The institute is essentially a form of pay-back against western nations that have questioned Russia’s elections and human rights record. It’s not a surprise considering how Kucherena has been critical of protesters who called for the overturning of dubious election results.

On top of all of that, Kucherena has expressed public support for banning internet anonymizers: software that’s used to mask a user’s IP address. This is particularly hilarious considering how Snowden and his acolytes have probably used similar technology, as well as encryption, to safeguard their privacy.

from the OP article

[KittyWampus]

18. Inexplicable? I'd want a lawyer with some serious connections too.

[arely staircase]

19. Oh, it is probably in his best interest to do whatever this guy says at this point.

I think the guy's role though is less as advocate for Snowden but rather as his control officer. It is shaping up to be a weird post-cold war version of an old fashioned defection. I don't think he so much hired the guy as the guy showed up and said I'm your "lawyer". I could be wrong.

[rhett o rick]

23. Your obsession with Snowden reminds me a lot of the "Birthers" obsession.

But thanks to those of you who choose to obsess over Snowden (or anyone that speaks truth to authority) you are making him an issue and people are starting to recognize that you really have nothing but hate and distraction. Your posts bring more attention to the NSA fiasco in spite of your efforts to distract.

[arely staircase]

24. it is an important issue.

I have said many time I oppose the collection of phone meta data and supported the Amash Amendment. I also support current efforts to keep bringing the issue up for a vote. but I also consider it very possible that Mr. Snowden's betrayal of his country in first China and now Russia has done more damage to the country than the meta data sweeps. With Greenwald issuing threats on his behalf while he and the data he stole are nestled in the bosom of the Russian state security apparatus, you should be concerned too.

[rhett o rick]

25. I will be concerned after we learn more. Right now I can see that the 1% wants desperately

to punish Snowden as another example that we peons cant dare speak truth to authority. I see a lot of subterfuge by those that want him silenced and those that dont want to believe that their "big daddy" government would violate the Constitution. I dont know a lot of facts and am skeptical when I hear information (propaganda) from our "big daddy" government. Snowden may not be all some think he is from either side. But I know that our current government handles whistle-blowers very harshly. That's not Democratic behavior. I know this government is a big bully government. They continue to use a heavy hand almost everywhere. I believe that the spy agencies will lie, cheat and push the envelope over the line because they can. They have no oversight.

We have a very serious problem with our intelligence agencies and I dont like it when some try to distract by screaming, "Look over there at Snowden. His girlfriend is a pole dancer, and and he loves the commies, and and he probably only brushes once a day."

[arely staircase]

26. well I think they are two seperate but related issues; Snowden's behavior overseas and

the metadata sweeps. while Snowden's leaking of the FISA court warrant didn't really break any new news (the program was known about since 2006) it did bring it back into the spotlight and has perhaps has begun a shift in congressional posture toward overreaching executive power that came with the Patriot Act. So that is good. That doesn't give him a free ride when it comes to fleeing to China and now cozying up to a genuinely authoritarian, foreign and arguably hostile power. And he has done that. It isn't a story made up by the 1 percent or some power in need of being spoken to. He is doing right in front of our eyes. if he indeed does have information that the US "should be on it knees" praying isn't released, as Greenwald has threatened on his behalf, and he is making it available to Russian security agents like his "lawyer" then he is doing damage far beyond what the meta data sweeps are doing. the sweeps can be undone by statute. the on your knees, America! espionage with the Russians can't be undone. and if he has indeed divulged the names of NSA or CIA agents then he is scum. the Snowden issue isn't a distraction. it is an equally and arguably bigger story than the data sweeps, imho.

I know I'm not going to convince you about Snowden. And that is fine. But do know I am in complete agreement that Congress should rein in the executive and stop the phone data collection. they should also look at all of the Patriot Act and other legislation passed in the wake of 9/11.

[rhett o rick]

27. If Snowden is in fact giving foreign powers USofA secrets, then I would agree with you.

But I do not trust the information currently being promulgated. On one hand you say that Snowden didnt reveal anything we didnt already know (which isnt true at least for the public. Did you know about PRISM before he exposed it?) and on the other hand you are worried that he may be given the Russians information they didnt already have. If the American people knew about the information he exposed, then the Russians also knew.

A bigger issue is who is collecting the data today? Who is holding the information? Are they compiling the raw data and analyizing it?
Who is the data available to? How many others like Snowden have access to this data?

By the way, I appreciate having this discussion without the usual hysteria (from either side).

[arely staircase]

28. I may not be being clear

the phone metadata I knew about since 2006, but Snowden's leaking of the FISA warrant brought that back into public view and started a needed debate. I didn't know about PRISM but absolutely assumed we were searching foreign e-mail that passes through US systems. And I frankly don't have a problem with that; foreign signals interception has been the purpose of the NSA since it began. you probably disagree with me on the propriety of that and I wont try to convince you otherwise. The info I'm afraid he's giving to the Russians is stuff that hasn't been seen by the public yet; Greenwald has it but said in a recent interview in China that he and the Guardian are being careful about vetting that stuff because it contains things like CIA agents' names and basically the entire structure of the NSA). I am very critical of Greenwald but I do not believe for a second he or the Guardian would print stuff that would get people killed or their cover blown. So there is much more on those hard drives apparently than phone metadata programs and PRISM and Russian security agents don't need to be anywhere near it.

Now I think there are probably some changes that need to be made to the PRISM program to make sure it isn't reading or scanning American domestic e-mail. My position is the same as Sen. Wyden's. The metadata collection needs to end and PRISM needs better oversight but is a legitimate and important program. And as for Snowden in Russia it is the rest of the stuff on those hard drives I worry about.

And you are right that we need serious congressional oversight regarding who has data being collected, what they are doing etc. It is definitely time for that.

[rhett o rick]

29. Ok. We arent that far apart on this. Thanks for the discussion. nm

[arely staircase]

31. peace nt

[Cha]

34. Your "obsession" of calling out DUers to insult is predictable.

"Birthers"? Really?

Too bad you want to stifle discussion.. not gonna happen.

[Federosky]

32. No news outlets with more prestige than "The Daily Banter" consider this newsworthy

Slow news day, apparently.

[arely staircase]

35. well a guy with a laptop full of top secret US intel gets a KGB handler is pretty important news

whether the MSM would rather cover Weiner's wiener or not.

[CindySessoms]

33. Yes, slow news day indeed.

[kentuck]

38. Maybe not a bad idea under the circumstances.

Maybe he couldn't get one from America? Are lawyers commonplace in Russia? Do they have yellow pages in their phone books?

Perhaps it is wise to pick someone with a little prestige and pull? Maybe he felt safer going with this type of "lawyer" than someone picked out of a hat?

It's only his life on the line.

[arely staircase]

39. well sure if you have made the decision to go ahead and defect

might as well get a good KGB handler. It will make the whole process of selling out of your country run smoother. Unless of course Mr. State Security Lawyer Man isn't interested in those hard drives at all. But that seems unlikely. Look Snowden has a laptops with, among other things, the names of CIA agents in the field and according to Greenwald, the entire structure of the NSA. And to the credit of Greenwald and the Guardian, they are vetting all of it to make sure they don't print those types of things. I'm no fan of Greenwald but I believe him when he says that.

[kentuck]

41. What type of lawyer do you look for in Russia??

Would you recommend he look in Philadelphia?

[arely staircase]

42. it makes sense logically, but not ethically or morally

dude, I completely oppose the metadata sweeps and have said so here repeatedly. but what this guy is doing now is just as big a story and arguably more dangerous to our country. congress can forbid the data mining and I want them to, and correct many other problems set in motion by the Patriot Act. But this guy, according to Greenwald, has the names of CIA agents as well as the entire structure of the US National Security Agency on computers that he is defecting to Russia with that. That is a big deal and it is bad.

[Scurrilous]

40. K & R