Updated: US ambassador to Russia disputes claim sent message to Snowden

[ProSense]

Last edited Fri Jul 12, 2013, 12:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker is reporting that Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia, called a member of the human rights delegation today and asked her to pass on to the message to Snowden that he is not a whistleblower.

Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza

US amb. to Russia @McFaul reportedly called member of human rights delegation, asked her to relay to Snowden that he isn't a whistleblower.
11:04 AM - 12 Jul 2013

22 Retweets 1 favorite

I’ve asked McFaul and Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, the only woman among the human rights representatives at the meeting, if this is true.

Tany Lokshina has confirmed that the US embassy called her before the meeting to ask her to pass on to Snowden the message that he was not a whistleblower.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/12/edward-snowden-to-meet-amnesty-and-human-rights-watch-at-moscow-airport-live-coverag#block-51e01f46e4b0d557cc000973

Updated to add:

Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia, has contacted the New Yorker to deny previous reports that he had sought to convey a message to Snowden that Snowden is not a 'whistleblower.'

McFaul's account directly contradicts a description of the Snowden meeting published by Wikileaks:

The Human Rights Watch representative used this opportunity to tell Mr Snowden that on her way to the airport she had received a call from the US Ambassador to Russia, who asked her to relay to Mr Snowden that the US Government does not categorise Mr Snowden as a whistleblower and that he has broken United States law. This further proves the United States Government’s persecution of Mr Snowden and therefore that his right to seek and accept asylum should be upheld.

Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza

BREAKING: @McFaul has emailed New Yorker, says he DID NOT contact human rights rep who met Snowden, as reported here: http://bit.ly/12lJSI3
11:56 AM - 12 Jul 2013

4 Retweets 1 favorite

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/12/edward-snowden-to-meet-amnesty-and-human-rights-watch-at-moscow-airport-live-coverag

[Blackford]

1. That will not alleviate the delusions of grandeur Snowden is experiencing. n/t

[cali]

2. lol. that strikes me as quite amusing.

[ProSense]

3. Not as "amusing"

as Snowden trying to trick the Russians into granting him asylum: Grant it and I'll stop leaking, but let me leave after that so I can go on leaking.

Russia says Snowden could stay if he stops harming US

Edward Snowden could stay in Russia if he stops issuing leaks that damage the United States, the Kremlin said Friday after the US fugitive told rights activists in a Moscow airport that he is seeking asylum in Russia.

"Mr. Snowden could hypothetically stay in Russia if he: first, completely stops the activities harming our American partners and US-Russian relations and second, if he asks for this himself," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments quoted by Russian news agencies.

According to lawyer Genri Reznik who was present at a meeting at Moscow airport with Snowden and spoke to reporters afterwards, the fugitive "promised that he would not act to harm the United States".

A picture released by The Guardian shows American intelligence leaker Edward Snowden on June 6, 2013. Snowden could stay in Russia if he stops issuing leaks that damage the United States, the Kremlin said after the US fugitive told rights activists in a Moscow airport that he is seeking asylum in Russia.

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/us-very-disappointed-china-snowden-034539367.html

Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch is being interviewed on Russia TV.

She said Snowden had said he wanted the US to succeed.

Would he stop his activities? There was nothing to stop, because he felt he was not harming the US, she said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/12/edward-snowden-to-meet-amnesty-and-human-rights-watch-at-moscow-airport-live-coverag#block-51e00a1ee4b0d557cc00096a

"Big news is that #Snowden is applying for political asylum in Russia" (updated)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023231657

[cali]

6. and that's related just how? In any case, A chacun son gout.

[ProSense]

9. By level of "amusing."

You didn't expect that did you?

[cali]

15. At the risk of repeating myself: A chacun son gout. Knock yourself out.

[randome]

33. As amusing as Assange forging a travel document for Snowden?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[railsback]

4. I bet that sent a cold chill down Snowden's spine

and quite a damper on his publicity stunt.

You made your own bed, dude.

[upaloopa]

5. did you know the NSA was spying on you before last month

[railsback]

13. I knew the NSA was spying on people since Truman set it up

I guess that makes Truman, Ike, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHWB, Clinton, and GWB all members of the American STASI, too.

Exactly how long is this Apocalypse supposed to last, anyways?

[Scurrilous]

18. LOL

[Maximumnegro]

22. LOL. Nice...nt

[upaloopa]

23. I asked if you knew the NSA was spying on you!

I'm sure you didn't.

[railsback]

24. I suppose you have proof of this

like my name, address, SSN, so you can pinpoint the surveillance going on right now of my home.

[upaloopa]

26. you use email? you use a cell phone

give it up
the government has violated your rights
under the constitution and you don't give a shit

[railsback]

32. Again, proof?

[upaloopa]

35. That's no rebuttal

You know damn well because of "the leaker" what the NSA has been gathering
keep your head in the sand if it feels comfortable

[railsback]

36. Ok, so then no proof

Just believe.. like in Jesus.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the ACLU beg to differ with the ambassador.

[ProSense]

11. Well:

The ACLU's own text contradicts its case for Snowden's asylum bid.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023231312

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. You say tomawto, they say tomato.

I think I'll stick with their interpretation of their own text.

[AllINeedIsCoffee]

30. And a US Ambassador has more credibility than any NGO. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

37. To you, perhaps.

[allin99]

8. lol.

[magellan]

10. As if the US government's opinion wasn't already clear to everyone. n/t

[Aerows]

12. The grounding of a sovereign leader's plane

just on the suspicion that he was on it pretty much describes it in minute detail.

[Douglas Carpenter]

16. that settles the issue.. when you want to know the truth about something - official statements

released by senior government officials are the only reliable source. Imagine how much better our newspapers, television and radio and other sources of news would be if instead of creeping around they simply publish official government statements. - We wouldn't have all of this he said - she said nonsense - we would know what the authorities are doing because they would explain it to us themselves without any filters of rabble rousing and speculation.

[railsback]

19. And in another thread

people here are questioning wether the jury in the Zimmerman trial should be trusted to hand down the 'correct' verdict.

So, apparently, it just comes down to who you, the individual, WANTS to believe.

[Mojorabbit]

21. LOL nt

[ProSense]

17. Kick!

Wonder if this claim was intended to bolster Snowden's case?

[think]

20. Have we killed the messenger yet? HB Gary would love to know....

More facts emerge about the leaked smear campaigns

New emails cause a Palantir employee to be placed on leave, and more focus is needed on Hunton & Williams

Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011 04:16 AM CDT - By Glenn Greenwald

(updated below - Update II – Update III – Update IV)

As I noted on Friday, the parties implicated in the smear campaigns aimed at WikiLeaks supporters and Chamber of Commerce critics have attempted to heap all the blame on HBGary Federal (“HBGary”) and its CEO, Aaron Barr. Both Bank of America and the Chamber — the intended clients — vehemently deny any involvement in these schemes and have harshly denounced them. The other two Internet security firms whose logos appeared on the proposals — Palantir Technologies and Berico Technologies — both issued statements terminating their relationship with HBGary and insisting that they had nothing to do with these plots. Only Hunton & Williams and its partner, John Woods — the central cogs soliciting these proposals — have steadfastly refused to comment.

Palantir, in particular, has been quite aggressive about trying to distance itself. They initially issued a strong statement denouncing the plots, then had their CEO call me vowing to investigate and terminate any employees who were involved, then issued another statement over the weekend claiming that “Palantir never has and never will condone the sort of activities that HBGary recommended” and “Palantir did not participate in the development of the recommendations that Palantir and others find offensive.” Such vehemence is unsurprising: the Palo-Alto-based firm relies for its recruitment efforts on maintaining a carefully cultivated image as a progressive company devoted to civil liberties, privacy and Internet freedom — all of which would be obviously sullied by involvement in such a scheme.


http://www.salon.com/2011/02/15/palantir/

Firm targeting WikiLeaks cuts ties with HBGary - apologizes to reporter
by Steve Ragan - Feb 11 2011, 01:55

~Snip~

Some of the things mentioned as potential proactive tactics against WikiLeaks include feeding the fuel between the feuding groups, disinformation, creating messages around actions to sabotage or discredit the opposing organization, and submitting fake documents to WikiLeaks and then calling out the error.

“Create concern over the security of the infrastructure. Create exposure stories. If the process is believed to not be secure they are done. Cyber attacks against the infrastructure to get data on document submitters. This would kill the project. Since the servers are now in Sweden and France putting a team together to get access is more straightforward,” the proposal said.

Moreover, reporter Glenn Greenwald, who writes for Salon.com, was singled out in the proposal as a person offering a level of support to WikiLeaks that needed to be disrupted. This disruption would include making Greenwald, and others in similar situations, choose between professional preservation and cause.

Our original coverage on this topic can be viewed here.

On Thursday evening, Dr. Alex Karp sent The Tech Herald a statement on the events and information presented in the story.

“As the Co-Founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, I have directed the company to sever any and all contacts with HB Gary,” the statement starts...

~Snip~

Full article:

http://www.thetechherald.com/articles/Firm-targeting-WikiLeaks-cuts-ties-with-HBGary-apologizes-to-reporter/12767/

[flamingdem]

25. Some of these people think they can get away with any kind of lie

if it suits their lofty ideals. Why did she think she could, strange.

[Whisp]

28. Because lies are 'in and there is really no punishment for that.

Partly/ mostly due to the Teabaggin' Libertarian foothold.

[flamingdem]

29. By the time she was busted she had the Snowdenistas

and world press such as it was believing, so I guess it worked out for her.

Orwellian tricks from the "truthy" ones

[randome]

38. Lies are 'in'. Shrewd observation.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[railsback]

27. After WikiLeak's teleprompter crack

Lokshina better hope she's telling the truth… for Snowden's sake.

[flamingdem]

31. I checked and they hadn't deleted it

No outcry over those words. Goes to show the level of political sophistication among their followers. At least one should send back a question on that tweet, nada.

[railsback]

34. I think people are still in shock

[img]?w=407[/img]

[randome]

39. Not Norman! Noooo!!!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[Savannahmann]

40. And if she's able to show her call log that the Ambassador did call

Will that still disprove her story? That's what I love about the apologists. No amount of proof is ever enough that the Government is acting badly.