The NSA’s former spy chief was snooped on the old-fashioned way when a blogger and political activist sitting behind him on an Amtrak train to New Jersey eavesdropped on his conversation and tweeted the whole thing.
Former NSA Director Michael Hayden was chatting with a reporter about “black sites” and “extraordinary rendition,” unaware the blogger was in the row behind him.
“Former NSA spy boss Michael Hayden on Acela behind me blabbing ‘on background as a former senior admin official,’ ” tweeted Tom Matzzie. “Sounds defensive.”
Matzzie was riding the train just a few feet away from the retired four-star general when Hayden started spouting off.
“I feel like I’m in the NSA. Except I’m in public,” he tweeted.
The Huffington Post blogger said Hayden was “bragging about rendition and black sites,” and that the ex-spy chief also made disparaging comments about the Obama administration.
Matzzie, the founder of Ethical Electric, overheard Hayden give specific instructions to refer to him as a ‘senior administration official’ instead of by his name.
The lefty blogger started to get nervous when his cellphone started ringing.
“Maybe somebody is telling him I’m here. Do I hide?” he wrote.
But Matzzie’s covert op didn’t get him sent to a black site. The former spy chief was even nice enough to stop and take a photo with the intrepid blogger.
“I just had a very nice conversation with Michael Hayden,” Matzzie tweeted after snapping the shot. “He was a gentleman and we disagree.”