Is unmasking illegal? Or is it within the discretionary authority these people have in these jobs?
Some of us have been saying for a long time that our laws are weak and here’s proof. Why? Well, look at who makes the laws. Why would legislators who are beholden to the deep state make tough laws to hold them accountable? Clearly it’s in their best interest to allow wide latitude when it comes to things like unmasking, because you never know when things like that might just come in handy.
Win reelection, then fix the laws. But many sins of the past are going to go unpunished.
In order to learn the information, US officials with proper security clearance to review the report can ask the agency that collected it — such as the FBI, CIA or National Security Agency — to “unmask” the name.
They must provide a reason, such as their need to fully understand the significance or context behind the intelligence.
This is a common process that happens “literally hundreds of times a year across multiple administrations,” according to former CIA deputy director Michael Morell.
If the request is approved, the names are then only shared with the specific individual who asked. Leaking an “unmasked” name to the media or public is illegal.
Patriot Act
Many people rightly bitched about that monstrosity being enacted and were right.
Is unmasking illegal? Or is it within the discretionary authority these people have in these jobs?
Well, it’s like this: The law says it’s illegal to spy on a private citizen domestically without a warrant. So you get a warrant and then it’s not illegal. But to get a warrant you need probable cause, and if you lie about having probable cause that’s illegal. So you find a way to “create” probable cause by having your friends leak false stories to the media for you. Now you’ve got a warrant, and you can spy on them, but you can’t tell anyone what you found out, because that is illegal. But you can “unmask” them and then anyone in the government can read what you found out, and if one of them leaks it, well, they might be committing a crime but you are not.
So in the end, you have achieved the same thing that the law says should be illegal, but you’ve done it in a way where none of the steps you took was technically illegal in itself. It’s like if you tell your kid not to take cookies from the cookie jar, but come home to find it empty and the kids says “Well, I didn’t take cookies from the cookie jar. The dog knocked the cookie jar over, and then I took the cookies from the counter and ate those. You never said I couldn’t take cookies from the counter.”