| Acquaintance | John M Poindexter |
| Acquaintance | Alex Karp |
| Start Date | 2002-00-00 |
| Notes | Mr. Karp reconnected with Mr. Thiel in 2002, while working at the Jewish Philanthropy Partnership in San Francisco. They decided to seek out John Poindexter, a retired rear admiral who was dubbed the godfather of modern surveillance; Admiral Poindexter had been forced to resign as President Ronald Reagan’s national security adviser after the Iran-Contra scandal broke. After 9/11, he worked at the Pentagon on a surveillance program called Total Information Awareness. |