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The Handler | 269 if not unprecedented for an American intelligence worker to seek asylum in Russia. These invitees included some of Putin’s close associates, pro- government activists, and representatives of both Amnesty Inter- national and Human Rights Watch. “It was totally bizarre,” said Tanya Lokshina, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch, who attended. “Although it was billed as a press conference,” she recalled, “there was no press or photographers allowed in the room.” Nor was anyone allowed to photograph or record the event. Snowden read from a prepared statement accusing the U.S. gov- ernment of violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, saying he was a victim of political persecution, and concluding, “I will be submitting my request to Russia today [for asylum], and hope it will be accepted favorably.” After answering a few questions posed by the audience, he left the room with Kucherena and Har- rison by the same door they had entered. In discussing this meeting, Kucherena told me that Snowden had not intended to seek asylum in Russia when he arrived on June 23. ® Because he also said he had not met Snowden prior to the day of the © conference, I asked how he knew Snowden’s intentions. “When I accepted the case, I received Snowden’s dossier,” he answered. “I was able to see all his interviews.” Presumably, Snowden’s dossier included his interviews with the FSB, the SVR, and other Russian security services. If so, it would explain how Kucherena could be so certain that Snowden had brought “material” with him to Russia that he had not provided to journalists in Hong Kong. Before meeting with Kucherena, I had met with Sophie Shevardnadze, who told me that Kucherena had personally approved the translation of their interview into English. So I asked Kucherena about the interview. It will be recalled that in response to a question about whether Snowden had secret mate- rial with him in Russia, Kucherena had said “certainly.” Was this exchange accurate? “It was accurate,” he answered. Snowden, as we know, had said in Hong Kong that he had only given journalists some of the state secrets he had stolen and that he | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r.indd 269 ® 9/3016 8:13AM | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019757