Merkle does not seem to be the kind of person who either would be working for the NSA or whom the NSA would pick to be a conduit for leaked secrets.
3. Ditto in spades for Whit Diffie. And Martin Hellman was, at that time, an active anti-war activist ("Beyond War"). Seems unlikely that NSA would pick them.
Ah, but that's what /they/ WANT us to think... (yes, I'm joking.) (Or maybe I'm a NSA plant cleverly disguised to something that I can't explain or I'll have to kill myself...) -- A quote from Petro's Archives: ********************************************** Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1st Inaugural