On Wednesday, Politico reported that President Donald Trump's acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has sent Senate Republicans a list of former Obama administration officials involved in the process of "unmasking" former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn — and that the list includes former Vice President Joe Biden.
"Grenell sent the list a day after Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote to Grenell and Attorney General William Barr calling on them to release information about efforts by Obama administration officials to 'unmask' U.S. citizens who were subject to government surveillance," reported Andrew Desidiero and Betsy Woodruff Swan. "The senators referenced Grenell’s decision to declassify a list of Obama administration officials who were involved in the 'unmasking' of Flynn."
In addition to Biden, Politico reported, the list "includes high-level officials such as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, and former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough."
As the report noted, "An accompanying memo to Grenell, signed by National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, notes that each person was 'an authorized recipient' and that the unmasking was approved through the agency’s normal process."
However, the list is part of an effort to validate Trump's conspiracy theory that members of the Obama administration committed some sort of unspecified illegal act to harm Flynn and the incoming administration — which Trump has lately taken to calling "Obamagate."
