Former vice president Joe Biden’s name appears on a declassified list of Obama administration officials who requested the unmasking of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn in the days after the 2016 election.
The list, obtained by CBS News, shows that Biden’s office made its request to see Flynn’s identity on January 12, 2017.
The NSA says it “cannot confirm” that those listed personally saw the information.
The list also names former U.N. ambassador Samantha Power, former director of national intelligence James Clapper, former CIA director John Brennan, and former FBI director James Comey.
Joe Biden appeared on ABC’s good morning America earlier this week and initially denied knowing that Flynn was under investigation then corrected himself.
SCOOP @CBSNews obtains @RichardGrenell notification to congress declassified “unmasking list” Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017 – Read 3 pages provided by NSA here pic.twitter.com/NozVpQlRn2
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 13, 2020
Biden said Tuesday that he knew the FBI had “asked for an investigation of a Flynn, but “that’s all I know about it.
The Department of Justice dropped last week after reviewing new exculpatory information, but a judge has delayed his ruling on the DOJ’s request to drop the charges. Biden initially claimed he knew “nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn,” but was forced to backtrack after ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pointed out Biden was reported to be in an Oval Office meeting on January 5, 2017, in which Flynn was discussed.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell handed over the list to Attorney General Bill Barr last week after declassifying it, but DOJ sources revealed yesterday that they were unlikely to release the list. The documents obtained by CBS News show that Grenell sent the list to Senators Ron Johnson (R., Wisc.) and Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) who are conducting a probe into Biden’s Hunter Biden’s business dealings and Joe Biden’s diplomatic work.
No crime was committed in asking for the unmasking, however whoever turned the information over to the Washington Post committed a felony.