McFaul was about to meet with a Russian human rights activist in Moscow on Thursday evening when NTV reporters confronted him, according to The Telegraph. McFaul's schedule had not been made public.
The Telegraph report suggested that NTV engages in "Kremlin-linked smear campaigns" against human rights activists and opposition political parties.
In McFaul's first tweet about the incident, he wondered how NTV figured out where he'd be:
Everywhere I go NTV is there. Wonder who gives them my calendar? They wouldn't tell me.Wonder what the laws are here for such things?— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) March 29, 2012
Soon afterward, he presupposed that reporters found a way to read his emails and listen in on his phone conversations:
I respect press right to go anywhere & ask any question.But do they have a right to read my email and listen to my phone?— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) March 29, 2012
When I asked these "reporters" how they knew my schedule, I got no answer. Heard the same silence when they met me after meeting w/ Chubais.— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) March 29, 2012
After McFaul's accusations, reporter Jace Foster offered a possible explanation: the Russian consulate keeps close tabs on the ambassador and releases his schedule to the media.
@McFaul Your schedule is fair game. We know it because Russian consulate watches you & releases your schedule.— JaceFosterInk (@jeresponderay) March 29, 2012
However, when questioned by a follower, Foster suggested that the U.S. State Department publishes his schedule, a claim that McFaul refuted.
@jeresponderay @kozlovsky Not true. State Dept does not publish my schedule. Meeting with Ponomarev wasnt sheduled through Consulate.— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) March 29, 2012
McFaul and Foster engaged in a back-and-forth dialogue, wherein Foster assured McFaul that she didn't have access to his calls or email -- but Foster doesn't work for NTV. Eventually, McFaul tweeted that he was considering making his schedule public because he is "always happy to interact with press." Later, McFaul called NTV's actions "wild" in a TV interview held in the Russian language.
McFaul became the U.S. ambassador to Russia in December of last year. He was formerly an academic and an advisor to President Obama. He's the first ambassador to Russia who hasn't been a career diplomat in nearly three decades.
Do you think McFaul was hacked, or are his allegations ungrounded? Sound off in the comments below.