Even as Michelle Obama visits China, NSA continues spying on Chinese

Even as Michelle Obama visits China, NSA continues spying on Chinese

As Michelle Obama and her entourage work at keeping alive the stereotype of the boorish American traveler, reports have surfaced revealing that the National Security Agency (NSA) has pried its way into the sealed industrial heart of China’s telecommunications giant Huawei. The untimely disclosure of NSA documents was published by the New York Times and the German publication Der Spiegel almost simultaneously on March 22, 2014.

At this time, there appears to be no information available about whether the release of the two new stories was coordinated or whether the Obama administration attempted to delay the reports until the first lady returned. If the administration was aware, that knowledge would give new meaning to Michelle Obama’s statement that “Barack ‘has dragged me kicking and screaming into things that I wanted no part of.’”

It’s possible that even if the White House tried to kill the story, a lack of influence with international news would have stopped the efforts cold. As this report is being published, the administration is most likely preparing to get out in front with their official version of this story, making the rounds on national Sunday news shows.

Stories coming out of China claiming that the staff of the hotel which is housing Michelle’s entourage of 70 may be regretting that their hotel was chosen to accommodate the visit of the first lady pale in comparison to the potential international embarrassment which may follow the release of these latest Edward Snowden documents. There are sure to be additional developments to this story. Already Der Spiegel is promising the release of a longer version of this story will appear in German on Monday.

Devonia Smith

Devonia Smith

Devonia Smith doesn't remember life before her passion for politics. Tucked away in her trove of political memorabilia, she has a napkin from Air Force One (she hopes Reagan wiped his mouth on it) plus a second-grade photo of Governor Rick Perry. She also writes for Examiner.com.

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