BREAKING: The List of Obama Administration Officials Who Unmasked General Flynn Has Been Released
Source: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
The list of Obama administration officials who requested the unmasking of General Michael Flynn during the transition period between the November 2016 election and President Donald Trump's January 20, 2017 inauguration has been released. Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell declassified the list late last week and it has been published by Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson.
“Today we received a list of individuals who requested the unmasking of Lt. General Michael Flynn and others who received access to that information. The officials listed should confirm whether they reviewed this information, why they asked for it and what they did with it, and answer many other questions that have been raised by recent revelations," the senators released in a statement. "We are making this public because the American people have a right to know what happened. We commend Acting DNI Grenell and Attorney General Barr for their transparency and responsiveness. Our investigation of these matters has been ongoing for years, and as information finally comes to light, our focus on these issues is even more important now."
"The records are one step forward in an important effort to get to the bottom of what the Obama administration did during the Russia investigation and to Lt. General Flynn. We will continue to review this information and push for additional relevant disclosures until we are satisfied that the American people know the full truth,” the statement continues.
Earlier today Grassley and Johnson sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr and Acting DNI Grenell requesting the names be released. There are 39 names, some are redacted.
Here are some of them:
-Vice President Joe Biden - One request January 12, 2017
-FBI Director James Comey - One request December 15, 2016
-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper - Three requests
-CIA Director John Brennan - Two requests - December 14-15, 2016
-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power - Seven requests: November 30, 2016 -December 2, 7, 14, 23, 2016, January 11, 2017
-Obama Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough - One request January 5, 2017
-Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration Michael Dempsey - One request January 7, 2017
-U.S Ambassador to Russia John Tefft - December 16, 2016
-U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ambassador Barr - December 28, 2016
-Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew - Two requests December 14, 2016 and January 12, 2017
-Acting Assistant Secretary Treasury Arthur McGlynn December 14, 2016
-Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Stephanie O'Sullivan - One request January 7, 2017
It is not a crime to ask for an unmasking of an American individual on a phone call with a foreign actor, so long as the official asking for the information has a proper security clearance. It is illegal to leak the name of the unmasked American to the media, which is what happened with General Flynn. It is also illegal to unmask Americans for political purposes.
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You can read the full list below:
List of Flynn unmasking by Katie Pavlich on Scribd
This post has been updated with additional information.
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