I have lawyers who are extremely well-connected at the Justice Department who usually can, with one phone call, get [Attorney General Eric] Holder on the phone. And they actually have gotten the people they wanted to get on the phone. And those people have been very unusually unforthcoming about what their thinking is or what’s happening, even to the extent of not being willing to tell them whether there’s already an indictment filed under seal or whether there’s a grand jury investigation…. [T]hey clearly want me to linger in this state of uncertainty.
— Lawyer turned journalist Glenn Greenwald, famous for his reporting on NSA surveillance, discussing with GQ the legal limbo he finds himself in.
(What Greenwald thinks about Hillary Clinton — hint: he’s not a fan — after the jump.)
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Greenwald gave a long and interesting interview to GQ in connection with the launch of his newest book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State (affiliate link). Although the NYU Law grad and former Wachell Lipton associate[1] left practice in 2005, he still values and relies upon the work of lawyers:
[F]or the book tour, I’ve taken every precaution. Like, I have lawyers in every city. I have a whole chain of things that are going to happen if anything goes wrong, with all the right people who are immediately involved. So I’ve protected myself as best as I can.
So, unlike some people, Greenwald appreciates how lawyers contribute to society. But he’s not a fan of all lawyers. Here’s his take on Yale Law grad and former law firm partner Hillary Clinton:
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Hillary is banal, corrupted, drained of vibrancy and passion. I mean, she’s been around forever, the Clinton circle. She’s a f**king hawk and like a neocon, practically. She’s surrounded by all these sleazy money types who are just corrupting everything everywhere. But she’s going to be the first female president, and women in America are going to be completely invested in her candidacy. Opposition to her is going to be depicted as misogynistic, like opposition to Obama has been depicted as racist.
Tell us how you really feel, Glenn. Cf. fellow lawyer/journalist Samantha Power (referring to Hillary Clinton as “a monster”).
You can read the complete interview with Glenn Greenwald here, and you can order a copy of his new book here (affiliate link). Whether you agree or disagree with Greenwald, there’s no disputing that he’s a smart and provocative writer, so his book is sure to be interesting.
[1] Fun fact, revealed in an earlier Rolling Stone interview: in his first full year at Wachtell, Greenwald earned more than $200,000. And that was back in the mid-1990s.
The Man Who Knows Too Much [GQ]
No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State [Amazon (affiliate link)]
Snowden and Greenwald: The Men Who Leaked the Secrets [Rolling Stone]
Earlier: Lawyer Asks Teacher What He Makes And Had To Listen To Some Dumb Poem
‘Hillary Clinton’s a monster.’