QandA_EdwardSnowdenSpeakstoPeterMaass-TheNewYorkTimes.pdf

Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass – The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/snowden-maass-transcript.html[9/15/2016 9:31:29 AM]

MAGAZINE

Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to
Peter Maass
Interview by PETER MAASS AUG. 13, 2013

178

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Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass – The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/snowden-maass-transcript.html[9/15/2016 9:31:29 AM]

In the course of reporting his profile of Laura Poitras, Peter Maass
conducted an encrypted question-and-answer session, for which Poitras
served as intermediary, with Edward J. Snowden. Below is a full
transcript of that conversation.

Peter Maass: Why did you seek out Laura and Glenn, rather than
journalists from major American news outlets (N.Y.T., W.P., W.S.J. etc.)? In
particular, why Laura, a documentary filmmaker?

Edward Snowden: After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets
in America abdicated their role as a check to power — the journalistic
responsibility to challenge the excesses of government — for fear of being
seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period of
heightened nationalism. From a business perspective, this was the obvious
strategy, but what benefited the institutions ended up costing the public
dearly. The major outlets are still only beginning to recover from this cold

People hold masks with the face of Edward J. Snowden at a hearing in Brazil on the N.S.A.’s surveillance programs.
Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass – The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/snowden-maass-transcript.html[9/15/2016 9:31:29 AM]

period.

Laura and Glenn are among the few who reported fearlessly on controversial
topics throughout this period, even in the face of withering personal
criticism, and resulted in Laura specifically becoming targeted by the very
programs involved in the recent disclosures. She had demonstrated the
courage, personal experience and skill needed to handle what is probably
the most dangerous assignment any journalist can be given — reporting on
the secret misdeeds of the most powerful government in the world —
making her an obvious choice.

P.M.: Was there a moment during your contact with Laura when you
realized you could trust her? What was that moment, what caused it?

E.S.: We came to a point in the verification and vetting process where I
discovered Laura was more suspicious of me than I was of her, and I’m
famously paranoid. The combination of her experience and her exacting
focus on detail and process gave her a natural talent for security, and that’s a
refreshing trait to discover in someone who is likely to come under intense
scrutiny in the future, as normally one would have to work very hard to get
them to take the risks seriously.

With that putting me at ease, it became easier to open up without fearing the
invested trust would be mishandled, and I think it’s the only way she ever
managed to get me on camera. I personally hate cameras and being
recorded, but at some point in the working process, I realized I was
unconsciously trusting her not to hang me even with my naturally
unconsidered remarks. She’s good.

P.M.: Were you surprised that Glenn did not respond to your requests and
instructions for encrypted communication?

E.S.: Yes and no. I know journalists are busy and had assumed being taken
seriously would be a challenge, especially given the paucity of detail I could
initially offer. At the same time, this is 2013, and a journalist who regularly
reported on the concentration and excess of state power. I was surprised to
realize that there were people in news organizations who didn’t recognize
any unencrypted message sent over the Internet is being delivered to every
intelligence service in the world. In the wake of this year’s disclosures, it
should be clear that unencrypted journalist-source communication is
unforgivably reckless.

P.M.: When you first met Laura and Glenn in Hong Kong, what was your
initial reaction? Were you surprised by anything in the way they worked and

Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass – The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/snowden-maass-transcript.html[9/15/2016 9:31:29 AM]

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interacted with you?

E.S.: I think they were annoyed that I was younger than they expected, and
I was annoyed they had arrived too early, which complicated the initial
verification. As soon as we were behind close doors, however, I think
everyone was reassured by the obsessive attention to precaution and bona
fides. I was particularly impressed by Glenn’s ability to operate without
sleep for days at a time.

P.M.: Laura started filming you from nearly the start. Were you surprised
by that? Why or why not?

E.S.: Definitely surprised. As one might imagine, normally spies allergically
avoid contact with reporters or media, so I was a virgin source — everything
was a surprise. Had I intended to skulk away anonymously, I think it would
have been far harder to work with Laura, but we all knew what was at stake.
The weight of the situation actually made it easier to focus on what was in
the public interest rather than our own. I think we all knew there was no
going back once she turned that camera on, and the ultimate outcome would
be decided by the world.

A version of this article appears in print on August 18, 2013, on page MM22 of the Sunday Magazine with the
headline: Snowden’s People. Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass – The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/snowden-maass-transcript.html[9/15/2016 9:31:29 AM]

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Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass – The New York Times

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Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass – The New York Times

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