Ask HN: Did the NSA Threaten Jim Bidzos (Of Rsadsi)?

I was reading through Tim May's "Cyphernomicon" to get a feel for what things were like during the crypto wars in the 1980-90s. Written as a massive outline, this text contains many references to people, events, and tools that, while apparently well-known to the Cypherpunks at the time, are now quite obscure. Overall, I was generally able to dig up more detailed references for things I found interesting (or reject them as dubious claims).

One exception is May's repeated claims that around 1994 someone from the NSA threatened Jim Bidzos for refusing to cooperate with them on RSA. In Section 10.21.17 he gives the source of the claim as an article published in the San Jose Mercury News titled "The Keys to the Kingdom". I was able to find the article in the Mercury News archives (June 27, 1994), which does include the claim as made by Bidzos but without any corroborating evidence:

> He must have said something wrong. One of the agents threatened to run him over in the parking lot, Bidzos said.

> "He looked at me and very coldly said he would do me in," Bidzos said. "He clearly threatened me."

> To Bidzos, the incident -- which could not be confirmed independently -- was another indication that tensions are increasing as his eight-year struggle with the government moves into its final stages.

> The NSA was not able to respond to requests for interviews or to written questions in time for this article.

Section 11.17.2 contains a Usenet post, supposedly by Jim himself, confirming the details:

> "Everything reported in the Merc News is true. I am certain that he was not speaking for the agency, but when it happened he was quite serious, at least appeared to be. There was a long silence after he made the threat, with a staring contest. He was quite intense.

> "I respect and trust the other two who were in the room (they were shocked and literally speechless, staring into their laps) and plan to ask NSA for a written apology and confirmation that he was not speaking for the agency. We'll see if I get it. If the incident made it into their trip reports, I have a chance of getting a letter."

> [jim@RSA.COM (Jim Bidzos), personal communication, posted with permission to talk.politics.crypto, 1994-06-28]

However I can't actually find that post anywhere else except the Cyphernomicon. I also can't find any other news articles, statements by the NSA, or even further mentions in later interviews by Bidzos. So my two theories now are:

1. The story was exaggerated or made up by Bidzos (possibly to generate media attention for his company), and he only mentioned it once or twice.

2. The story is true, but Bidzos came to an agreement with the NSA not to talk about it any more.

Does anybody have more information or better theories?