Fox News host Tucker Carlson reported that “relevant information” is missing from the declassified memo on Obama administration officials who received information in response to “unmasking” requests targeting retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
During his opening monologue, as he discussed the leaks of classified details of Flynn’s contacts with a Russian envoy, Carlson said this is an indicator that a grand jury has been impaneled.
“According to a knowledgeable source, a portion of the relevant information is missing from this latest document release,” Carlson said on his show on Wednesday. “Now, that could be a sign that some evidence is now in the hands of a grand jury impaneled to consider charges against whoever did this.”
He added a disclaimer, saying, “We don’t know that’s true, we certainly hope it is.”
Sixteen officials made unmasking requests that pertained to Flynn in the time period between the 2016 election and President Trump’s inauguration. This list, which was part of a memo released by GOP senators on Wednesday, has dozens of names, and it is not clear who made the requests or who among these people looked at the information.
There are some redacted sections on the list, including some names.
Classified details about Flynn’s conversations with the Russian ambassador were repeatedly leaked to the Washington Post in January and February of 2017. The sources of these leaks are not known publicly.
John Durham, the U.S. attorney picked by Attorney General William Barr to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia inquiry, is scrutinizing the Flynn unmaskings and subsequent politicized leaks as part of his inquiry.
Unmasking occurs when U.S. intelligence agencies eavesdropping on foreigners sweep up communications with U.S. citizens in what is known as incidental collection. When the intelligence reporting is shared across the government, names of U.S. citizens are typically concealed or masked to protect their identities. The names can be unmasked, however, if U.S. officials make the request.
Republicans have alleged since 2017 that Obama-era officials improperly unmasked associates of then-candidate Donald Trump’s presidential campaign during the Russia investigation. Democrats have defended the intelligence-gathering process, arguing that the collection of identifying information is inevitable.
Flynn was briefly Trump’s first national security adviser but was forced to resign in February 2017 as it was believed he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition period.
The Justice Department filed on Thursday to dismiss charges against Flynn, who cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian diplomat. The judge presiding over the case invited outside opinions on Tuesday and appointed a retired judge on Wednesday to argue against the Justice Department’s motion.
