I was reading the Wall Street Journal that the conference hotel provides and came across this article today that suggests that there are splits between the three groups that are providing support to Edward Snowden: Wikileaks, Glenn Greenwald, and Snowden’s father’s husband and wife legal team of Bruce and Mattie Fein. Mattie Fein said that they were concerned that the other two groups were not acting in Snowden’s best interests and were working for their own benefit and even trying to make money off him.
This looked suspiciously to me like agitprop, trying to sow suspicion between Edward Snowden and the others. Sure enough, Greenwald produced a blistering denunciation, calling Mattie Fein a liar and that her statements were ‘defamatory’.
Meanwhile, Snowden himself issued a statement saying that the media were being misled. Here it is in full:
It has come to my attention that news organizations seeking information regarding my current situation have, due to the difficulty in contacting me directly, been misled by individuals associated with my father into printing false claims about my situation.
I would like to correct the record: I’ve been fortunate to have legal advice from an international team of some of the finest lawyers in the world, and to work with journalists whose integrity and courage are beyond question. There is no conflict amongst myself and any of the individuals or organizations with whom I have been involved.
Neither my father, his lawyer Bruce Fein, nor his wife Mattie Fein represent me in any way. None of them have been or are involved in my current situation, and this will not change in the future. I ask journalists to understand that they do not possess any special knowledge regarding my situation or future plans, and not to exploit the tragic vacuum of my father’s emotional compromise for the sake of tabloid news.
Thank you.
He more I read about Snowden, the more he seems to be in command of the situation and not a pawn in the hands of others. As Greenwald says, “Snowden is not 14 years old. He is a very strong-willed, independent, autonomous adult and is making all his own choices about who he deals with and who represents him.”
“the tragic vacuum of my father’s emotional compromise”
That is an amazing phrase. I’m going to keep that one stored in my memory but hope that I never have to use it.
Think a moment: between Wikileaks, Greenwald and Snowdon the Elder, who is most susceptible to the kind of intense pressure that the White House can bring to bear?
“Agitprop.” Yeah, that sounds about right.
With the additional revelations that are now surfacing
It sounds like it is time to shut this whole program down, award Mr. Snowden the Congressional Medal of Honor, and prosecute a few officials for perjury.