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193 “There is only one door to Snowden,” Zamir wrote me. “His name is Kucherena.” Since Zamir said Kucherena rarely saw journalists he that he had a contact in his office. He further told me Kucherena required that any journalist seeking an interview with Snowden to submit his questions to him two weeks in advance and, if approved, sign a document stating I would not deviate from the questions. Next, my questions had to be translated from English to Russian (even though Snowden does not speak Russian) and then vetted by Kucherena’s staff. Zamir also suggested I stay at the National hotel in Red Square because Snowden has gone there for previous meetings with Bamford. So I sent Kucherena, via Zamir, ten questions that might interest Snowden (if they ever reached him.) I next obtained a multi-entry Russian visa from the Russian consulate in New York, booked myself a room in the National hotel with a view of the Kremlin and used all my remaining frequent travel miles to book a direct flight on Aeroflot to Moscow. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020345