Let’s talk “unmasking” and the latest Fox News bullshit tornado, shall we?
It’s no secret that the US intelligence community routinely—and lawfully—collects the communications of foreign persons of interest.
So what happens when a US person is caught up in that collection? 1/X
It’s no secret that the US intelligence community routinely—and lawfully—collects the communications of foreign persons of interest.
So what happens when a US person is caught up in that collection? 1/X
There are strict minimization requirements in place to protect the identity of any United States citizen or permanent resident that is incidentally collected while monitoring a foreign national.
This shows up as “US Person 1,” etc. on intercepts. 2/X
This shows up as “US Person 1,” etc. on intercepts. 2/X
If a senior official feels that the identity of one or more of the minimized US persons is necessary to understand the context of the communications, they can request that the originating (read: collecting) agency reveal (‘unmask’) their identity. 3/X
There is a strict process in place at each collecting agency to determine whether or not they will comply with such a request. They typically only comply in specific instances where the name of the US person is critical for context, or there are national security concerns. 4/X
So, while Fox is spinning up the outrage machine, I’m far more interested in:
1. Why didn’t they reach out to the legitimate Kremlin channels used to set up an interview with Putin?
2. What did Tucker say that spooked senior officials enough to unmask him? 5/X
1. Why didn’t they reach out to the legitimate Kremlin channels used to set up an interview with Putin?
2. What did Tucker say that spooked senior officials enough to unmask him? 5/X
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