[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by New Era

Nothing reported by a real news source on this. Got a source?

https://thinkprogress.org/amp/p/1a72785b100e

The names of unidentified Americans are masked in intelligence reports to protect the identity of third-parties. When someone with credentials to request the classified information asks that they become public, the process is known as unmasking.

The unmasking of unidentified Americans in intelligence reports is within the scope of the job of a national security advisor like Rice. According to Kate Martin, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Rice’s actions are likely legal and probably do not even raise privacy concerns if the individuals were part of the Trump transition team. (ThinkProgress is an editorially independent news website housed at the Center for American Progress).

When an American’s identity in a classified intelligence report is unmasked, only those who have a security clearance and the authority to view the classified information may see the unmasked report, Martin said. The information may not be shared with individual members of Congress, let alone outside the government.

Conversations by foreign government officials are routinely surveilled, and those speaking with ambassadors should expect that their conversations may be wiretapped.

Given Russia’s involvement in the U.S. election, it’s not surprising that Rice would look at intelligence reports on Russia, including conversations by Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. If those conversations were with Americans, it follows that Rice would ask for the names to understand more about the conversation.

“There is no legal issue, and if the conversations were by official members of the presidential transition team conducting government business, it is hard to even see what privacy interest those individuals had in such conversations,” Martin said.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk