I read this as him _literally_ guessing what the size of the list was, not that there was a list. As has been noted elsewhere, a Time reporter described a pers

I read this as him _literally_ guessing what the size of the list was, not that there was a list. As has been noted elsewhere, a Time reporter described a personal briefing as well. I think you're assuming that his article is a complete transcript of the meeting and any followup conversations, rather than a vignette.