Lost in the fallout from Michael Flynn’s phone calls to Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak is an uncomfortable question: Were the former National Security Advisor’s civil rights violated when his identity and the subject of those phone calls were leaked to the press?

It’s been lost because of the magnitude of Flynn’s actions.
Flynn was attempting to conduct official diplomacy while a private citizen, which may be illegal under the Logan Act. He was conducting that diplomacy without authorization and was doing so with a foreign government that is trying to undermine Washington’s interests around the world. And it also raises critical questions about how much the rest of the administration knew.

It’s further uncomfortable because as serious as Flynn’s actions were, we might not be aware of them if one or more insiders hadn’t broken the law by leaking the intelligence to the press.