Tom Drake

So I had one last route. I could touch the third rail, go to the press. And NSA, if you go to the press without authorization – and I had gone – I knew what it was like if you have to have something published. I had something published based on my work I did on Jackpot in IEEE Computer Magazine in 1996 when I was doing all my really highly technical stuff.

So I had one last route. I could touch the third rail, go to the press. And NSA, if you go to the press without authorization – and I had gone – I knew what it was like if you have to have something published. I had something published based on my work I did on Jackpot in IEEE Computer Magazine in 1996 when I was doing all my really highly technical stuff.

So I had one last route. I could touch the third rail, go to the press. And NSA, if you go to the press without authorization – and I had gone – I knew what it was like if you have to have something published. I had something published based on my work I did on Jackpot in IEEE Computer Magazine in 1996 when I was doing all my really highly technical stuff.

I had to go through the whole – with the classification review officer just to make sure it was good. It took months. Right, right. Here, I'm going to go to the press without any authorization. But at that time, it only violated administrative policy. It didn't violate the Constitution. It was not a crime. It wasn't criminal to go to the press.

I had to go through the whole – with the classification review officer just to make sure it was good. It took months. Right, right. Here, I'm going to go to the press without any authorization. But at that time, it only violated administrative policy. It didn't violate the Constitution. It was not a crime. It wasn't criminal to go to the press.

I had to go through the whole – with the classification review officer just to make sure it was good. It took months. Right, right. Here, I'm going to go to the press without any authorization. But at that time, it only violated administrative policy. It didn't violate the Constitution. It was not a crime. It wasn't criminal to go to the press.

However, I knew if I did, I could end up just like Ellsberg. I already knew that. Some people thought I was stupid and naive and didn't know that. That's not true at all. I knew exactly what the risks were. I knew not only could I lose my job, probably would, but worse, I could be charged on the espionage. I knew that. So how do you go to the press?

However, I knew if I did, I could end up just like Ellsberg. I already knew that. Some people thought I was stupid and naive and didn't know that. That's not true at all. I knew exactly what the risks were. I knew not only could I lose my job, probably would, but worse, I could be charged on the espionage. I knew that. So how do you go to the press?

However, I knew if I did, I could end up just like Ellsberg. I already knew that. Some people thought I was stupid and naive and didn't know that. That's not true at all. I knew exactly what the risks were. I knew not only could I lose my job, probably would, but worse, I could be charged on the espionage. I knew that. So how do you go to the press?

where they're, and this is, I wouldn't get into all this, part of it is still technically classified. Yeah, wasn't the NSA spying on the press? Yes. They had a special program as part of this larger, it's called First Fruits. First Fruits.

where they're, and this is, I wouldn't get into all this, part of it is still technically classified. Yeah, wasn't the NSA spying on the press? Yes. They had a special program as part of this larger, it's called First Fruits. First Fruits.

where they're, and this is, I wouldn't get into all this, part of it is still technically classified. Yeah, wasn't the NSA spying on the press? Yes. They had a special program as part of this larger, it's called First Fruits. First Fruits.

Where they were monitoring certain media outlets and even individual reporters and journalists because they were so scared that something would come out, not just about the secret surveillance program, but the torture program. Right. Torture program came out way before this one did. Okay. Abu Ghraib. Yep. Yep. Shai Hirsch, right? Eli, that's where he became famous as a journalist.

Where they were monitoring certain media outlets and even individual reporters and journalists because they were so scared that something would come out, not just about the secret surveillance program, but the torture program. Right. Torture program came out way before this one did. Okay. Abu Ghraib. Yep. Yep. Shai Hirsch, right? Eli, that's where he became famous as a journalist.

Where they were monitoring certain media outlets and even individual reporters and journalists because they were so scared that something would come out, not just about the secret surveillance program, but the torture program. Right. Torture program came out way before this one did. Okay. Abu Ghraib. Yep. Yep. Shai Hirsch, right? Eli, that's where he became famous as a journalist.

So I had that choice and I won't go into all the details, but I had one chance to make contact with a reporter which worked and ended up anonymously communicating with the reporter for about a year before I knew that I would ultimately have to go face-to-face. And so I actually, through 2007, I was having infrequent a periodic face-to-face meetings with this reporter at even greater risk.

So I had that choice and I won't go into all the details, but I had one chance to make contact with a reporter which worked and ended up anonymously communicating with the reporter for about a year before I knew that I would ultimately have to go face-to-face. And so I actually, through 2007, I was having infrequent a periodic face-to-face meetings with this reporter at even greater risk.

So I had that choice and I won't go into all the details, but I had one chance to make contact with a reporter which worked and ended up anonymously communicating with the reporter for about a year before I knew that I would ultimately have to go face-to-face. And so I actually, through 2007, I was having infrequent a periodic face-to-face meetings with this reporter at even greater risk.

Because as things progressed, I was under extraordinary electronic surveillance. I knew they'd eventually catch up with me. I knew that I might find myself being pulled out of my house or having my house raided or my office down at the National Defense University. And that's exactly what happened.

Because as things progressed, I was under extraordinary electronic surveillance. I knew they'd eventually catch up with me. I knew that I might find myself being pulled out of my house or having my house raided or my office down at the National Defense University. And that's exactly what happened.