That would be my bet. Although in her weeping manifesto, Harrison never mentions any Russian request or pressure.
In my post about the cracks in the /Snowden facade, I mentioned the strange statement by Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov that seems to indicate possible worrying about Snowden's continued leaks and their effect on international relations. All the recent leaks deliberately undermine relations between the US and NATO allies so they look like they have Russia's paw-prints all over them, and the Russians realize that. Time for some counterspin?
I wonder if they've asked Sarah to move along, because they've noticed that she's the main pipeline to WikiLeaks and to all the machinations around the Snowden material.
I've always asked -- and wondered why no Moscow correspondent would ask! -- who sponsored Sarah in Russia. You can't just stay in Russia for four months on a tourist visa. You need a business or journalist visa. I would bet she had a press visa, and that it was arranged for her by the provocateurs Israel Shamir or his son Johannes Wahlstrom, both of whom have been producing material for WikiLeaks inside Russia that serves the Kremlin's interest. Shamir, a notorious antisemite, played an obvious role in the Snowden affair calling for a meeting with him but hasn't been visible on the story in months. But his son, also a disgraced journalist over antisemitism, produced the controversial film Mediastan which revealed just how much a long-term base of operations WikiLeaks has had in Russia. So a paper associated with these two, perhaps Komsomolskaya Pravda, perhaps Russian Reporter, perhaps the Union of Journalists or something like that, could have issued the visa invitation.
Then it would have to be approved by the Foreign Ministry. The visas had to have been issued either before in Hong Kong (that's my bet -- I continue to think that the "airport lounge" bit is a sham) or really as an entirely extraordinary venture, at the transit desk. But regardless, there would have to be a sponsoring organization -- a minder -- and MID approval -- a Soviet-era requirement still in place. There would be an additional layer of a propiska or residence permit which the police would have to stamp regularly or for a longer stay, it would be renewed at the Offices of Visa and Registration (OVIR).
Sarah doesn't explain any of this, but my bet is simply that she go a 30-day visa, then a 90-day visa, then the time began to run out and the organizers used up their chits in either a divided Kremlin or a Kremlin that is united in being sick of the problems or optics involved.
Sarah explains her role so strangely -- she was needed to handle his asylum applications and dealings with consulates and such. What, he can't fill out a form? He can't type or write? He can't pick up the phone and call consulates? There is something odd about that in this day and age -- the era of men needing secretaries or Gal Fridays to help them do every little thing is really over. So was this really about WikiLeaks minding Snowden as much as the FSB minded him? About her controlling the communications, maybe even those daily talks with Glenn?
If she was supposed to keep him safe, why would she abandon him to the FSB's tender mercies *now* especially when Peskov has revealed the first indication of possible Russian nervousness about Snowden's ongoing role? Answer: because she couldn't get her visa renewed and they strongly hinted or told her to leave as her presence was not required. And it isn't, for Russia's purposes.
Her story natters on about her innocence and the innocence of a bunch of other people in the anti-US conspiracy; even including Barrett Brown, who is surely no journalist and was justly nabbed for siccing Anonymous on other people's files in the IRC channel.
Joshua Foust has a rather jumbled list of thoughts about what all this means, in which he fatuously wonders whether Harrison is even really in Germany, because we didn't see her. I think you can go too far on this sleuthing stuff -- it's like when Foust ridiculously tried to pin Pierre Omidyar to the hackers' convergence in Hawaii. I think there are enough proper questions to ask without going totally tin-foil.
Foust does note appropriately that Harrison's manifesto comes just as the German parliament has declined the notion of bringing him to Germany for testimony. That's tantamount to declining to give him asylum in Germany, too.
Note: I disagree with Foust on most things and he has outrageously smeared me on a number of occasions, including one particularly insane piece today on Beacon, which I'll take up soon.
But even so, I link to him if I've discovered a link due to his blogging. That is common decency. That is Netiquette. Maybe this can be inculcated. Maybe one can lead by example. Because Foust never, ever does this for other bloggers, notably me (his pieces on Snowden and Muhtorov lift loads of ideas and discoveries and links from me and other bloggers). BTW, he might well have lifted that insight about the timing of Harrison's manifesto with the German parliament's announcement from another Twitterer on Snowden.
Harrison also claims that David Miranda was wrongfully arrested under the British anti-terrorism law -- this is a theme all of the Snowden Brotherhood are bruiting about these days -- in fact Foust himself is chumming it up with Spencer Ackerman, who you could think is ideologically diametrical to Foust, because he thinks it was an "outrage" that Miranda was detatained.
But terrorism isn't just about blowing up buildings and isn't just about Al Qaeda. It's also about seriously undermining the government, and not with speech but with damaging actions. In this case, the Snowden materials contain lists of British intelligence agents' names abroad, and so therefore it qualifies under the anti-terrorism law. Each time some prog bleats about this, they neglect to explain THAT is the issue.
Louise Mensch has an excellent dissection of this issue pointing out how the ethics-free Snowden team no only had Miranda mule the docs from Germany, but have former WikiLeaks staffer James Ball mule the files to NYC. She also muses as to why in this manifesto, Harrison has to call herself a "journalist" when she is a lawyer (or so we have been told -- all of her jobs have been in leftist "investigative journalism" outfits).
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