James Clapper claims unmasking of Flynn was a ‘routine thing’ in CNN interview

by SooperMexican

So James Clapper came out of the woodwork this morning to add to the chorus of voices from the Obama administration and their allies that the unmasking was a “routine thing”:

Here’s more of what he said from the Hill:

Clapper was one of several Obama-era officials named on Wednesday by the Trump administration and Republican senators who they say asked for documents that led to Flynn being “unmasked” from intelligence reports between the 2016 election and President Trump’s inauguration.

Government officials typically redact the names of American citizens in intelligence reports they receive in order to protect their privacy, though it is common for officials to request that the names be revealed, or “unmasked,” to provide the government with context about the material.

Clapper maintained that officials do not know the individual who will be unmasked prior to making their request, dismissing claims that the government was working to target Flynn.

“Again, if I’d known that, there wouldn’t have been a need to ask,” he said.

Clapper requested officials “unmask” Flynn three times, though he said he does not recall what prompted his requests.

Flynn was being scrutinized at the time for discussions he had with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about the Obama administration’s sanctions on Moscow. Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to federal agents about conversations he had with the Russian diplomat, but he has since sought to withdraw his plea and is in the midst of a closely-watched court battle after the Justice Department announced it was dropping charges.

So, from what I’m seeing, and it makes sense given how FISA works, the request for unmasking a name comes before someone knows what that name is. IN the surveillance, people are marked but redacted, and then officials can request the unmarking. That is what we know for sure.

IF it was politically motivated, then we would have to know that Obama or Biden or other officials KNEW beforehand that it was Mike Flynn, and then they asked for the unmasking. That, we don’t know, we can only conjecture.


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