THE TRUMPISTS' CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD:

Names of Americans are routinely hidden, or minimized, in intelligence reports that describe routine, legal surveillance of foreign targets. U.S. officials may make a specific request if they want to know the person's identity, or "unmask" them.

Biden and the other officials had full authority to seek the name of the unidentified American in the reports -- it turned out to be Flynn -- and did so through proper channels, according to Trump administration documents. Rather than reveal any actual wrongdoing, the release of the information by the president's allies seems designed to create suspicion around Biden and other senior Democrats as the November election approaches.

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