Senate Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Mark Warner was quite incensed after Acting DNI Richard Grenell declassified the names of 39 Obama administration officials who unmasked Lt. General Michael Flynn during the 2016-2017 presidential transition period. The names were then provided to Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson and published in the name of transparency.
But instead of asking serious questions about why so many Obama officials were engaged in the unmasking of an incoming Trump administration official, Warner berated Grenell for allegedly compromising sources/methods and then demanded additional intelligence reports be declassified. Grenell issued a response on Monday.
"My declassification determination was made in the interests of full transparency and public accountability given serious unanswered questions about the potential misuse of intelligence for partisan purposes following the 2016 election," Grenell wrote. "The protection of intelligence sources is always at the fore of any declassification decision I might make. As you well know, the decision to declassify the names of individuals who sought to unmask the identity of General Flynn poses absolutely no risk of compromise of either sources or methods. Additionally, far from undermining the credibility of the Intelligence Community (IC), the utmost transparency in this matter builds public trust and confidence in the Community and ensures the IC will not conceal potential abuse behind unnecessary security classification."
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