He should’ve taken the quiet car.
But that’s not what Michael Hayden did on Thursday afternoon as he boarded Acela No. 2170, bound for New York.
Instead, the former NSA director [Michael Hayden] nestled into a regular coach seat and soon began what for many travelers is an Amtrak ritual: talking, often nonstop, on a cellphone as the train rolled on.
A passenger a few seats away couldn’t help but be intrigued by the conversation...
It took nearly half an hour, but then it clicked for Matzzie, a former Washington director of the political group MoveOn.org. He whipped out his phone and began tweeting.
“Former NSA spy boss Michael Hayden on Acela behind me blabbing ‘on background as a former senior admin official,’ ” Matzzie wrote. “Sounds defensive.”
While a CIA strike team never burst onto the train, someone must have tipped Hayden off, because when the former official finished one of his calls, he got up — and walked straight over.
“Would you like a real interview?” he asked Matzzie.
“I’m not a reporter,” Matzzie replied.
The two proceeded to have a conversation about the Fourth Amendment and the NSA’s surveillance activities. They agreed to disagree, but before they parted, Hayden posed with Matzzie for a photo.
And then, Hayden swept off the train at Newark.
WAPO The Switch
10 comments:
“Everybody’s a reporter,” said Hayden.
It's early. I see that's your title.
the tweets are mildly interesting.
Many holes and gaps. A full recording would be better. It's odd that the former NSA chief would be so careless and blab like that in public.
We're in good hands.
So if the NSA were worried about Obama's blackberry - was/is that because the NSA spies on other world leaders?
I keep reading... "He should have taken the clown car."
What did Time, an unofficial party loyalty publication(D), ever do with the story?
My, how the powerful have fallen.
On the other hand, work is good for the soul, even menial work like sweeping out the train.
Never, ever, blab on the Acela, because there's always someone near you who knows what you're talking about as well as you do, and is happy to pass on the info to his side.
Not long ago a lawyer in a tony NYC firm was overheard blabbing about the internals of a big case. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize that counsel for the other side was in ear-shot in the same car.
Unless you're comfortable with the whole world knowing what you just said, never, ever, blab on the Acela.
“Everybody’s a reporter,” said Hayden.
Fixed. thanks
So Hayden figured out who the guy was not from overhearing him, but getting a message he just posted about Hayden?
That is creepy.
How in the hell can't these guys roll out a Health Care platform that works?
They're everywhere, they're everywhere.
They're everywhere, they're everywhere.
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