NIST is part of the US government and so is the NSA

" . . .  NIST, have a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they manage the process. .  ."   Yeah, right.  The NSA are so forthcoming I got reams of  █████ from them.

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  Smid recalls. "NIST is part of the government and so is the NSA. The NSA has submitted candidate algorithms in the past, and NIST treats them like any other submissions. <<<

https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/11/4718694/how-far-did-the-nsa-go-to-weaken-... Reposts etc