" . . .  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.

...

...

  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