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A Single Point of Failure | 243 have been in a very different position. The story would have broken before Poitras or Greenwald even knew about Snowden’s presence in Hong Kong, and his identity would be secret except for whatever foreign mission he had contacted. But, as we know, the Post turned down his ultimatum. Time was running out if he was to break the story and leave Hong Kong before the NSA realized he was missing. At best, he was safe until June 3, when he was supposed to return from his medical leave. If he failed to show up in Hawaii on June 3, alarm bells at the NSA would go off, and it would not take long to find him. Airline records would show that he had flown to Hong Kong. Snowden told Poi- tras that NSA security would ask, “This guy isn’t where he says he’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be getting medical treatment. Why the hell is he in Hong Kong?” It would not take long to deter- mine that he had lied about his medical treatment, and then the hunt would begin. He had, remember, already sent Poitras an enciphered file and told her she would get the key once she followed his instructions. Green- ) wald had still not committed himself to meeting Snowden. Green- © wald was, however, willing to publish the documents once Snowden provided them. That Snowden remained in Hong Kong suggests that his reason for going to and remaining in Hong Kong went beyond just delivering documents to journalists, which he could have done over the Internet. What he could not do in America, without risking arrest, was to make and release a video. In any event, after his attempt to pressure the Post, Snowden asked Greenwald to fly immediately to Hong Kong. Presumably, he still wanted Greenwald’s story and the video done in Hong Kong before he became a suspect. If Greenwald and Poitras had immedi- ately flown to Hong Kong, it still might have left Snowden an escape window. But of course things do not always go as planned. Greenwald, although agreeing to come to Hong Kong, waited in New York for two days while the Guardian editors completed their due dili- gence. Poitras waited with him. As a result of this delay, as we know, Greenwald and Poitras did not arrive at his hotel in Hong Kong until June 3, only hours before Snowden became suspect at the NSA. “It | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r.indd 243 ® 9/3016 8:13AM | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019731