“The aggressive posture of the FBI under Director James Comey is becoming a political problem for the White House,” Cory Bennett and Julian Hattem report for The Hill.
“The FBI’s demand that Apple help unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers has outraged Silicon Valley, a significant source of political support for President Obama and Democrats,” Bennett and Hattem report. “Then there’s the biggest issue of all: the FBI’s investigation into the private email server used by Hillary Clinton, Obama’s former secretary of State and the leading contender to win the Democratic presidential nomination. A decision by the FBI to charge Clinton or her top aides for mishandling classified information would be a shock to the political system.”
“In these cases and more, Comey — a Republican who donated in 2012 to Mitt Romney — has proved he is ‘not attached to the strings of the White House,’ said Ron Hosko, the former head of the FBI’s criminal investigative division and a critic of Obama’s law enforcement strategies,” Bennett and Hattem report. “While the White House has repeatedly backed the FBI’s decision [to seek a court order demanding that Apple create new software to bypass security tools on an iPhone], it has not fully endorsed the potential policy ramifications, leaving some to think a gap might develop as similar cases pop up. The White House is poised to soon issue its own policy paper on the subject of data encryption.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Ah, the friction-filled ramifications of a lack of leadership.
SEE ALSO:
Black Lives Matter activists say U.S government fight to break iPhone encryption threatens civil liberties – March 9, 2016
Hillary Clinton: Apple vs. FBI dispute is ‘worst dilemma ever’ – March 8, 2016
How Apple’s clarion call united the entire tech industry against U.S. government overreach – March 8, 2016
Apple CEO Cook decried Obama’s ‘lack of leadership’ on encryption during a closed-door meeting last month – February 29, 2016
Obama administration set to expand sharing of data that N.S.A. intercepts – February 28, 2016
Apple’s fight with U.S. could speed development of devices impervious to government intrusion – February 24, 2016
Petition asks Obama administration to stop demanding Apple create iPhone backdoor – February 19, 2016
Obama administration claims FBI is not asking Apple for a ‘backdoor’ to the iPhone – February 18, 2016
Obama administration wants access to smartphones – December 15, 2015
Obama administration war against Apple just got uglier – July 31, 2015
Obama’s secret attempt to ban cellphone unlocking, while claiming to support it – November 19, 2013
The FBI director reports to the Attorney General, who in turn reports to the President.
It is unwise to piss off your boss …and their boss, too.
Hope you’re right, this guy is Ashcroft’s kin.
You know the depth this guy is going to when he states that
“he is “very close, personally,” to the probe.”
question is, which end of the probe are we on? don’t bend over if he is holding the probe is the answer!
The full weight of the government is coming down on Apple to create a backdoor to all iPhones. But our former Secretary of State can set up an unsecured server at her home and keep top secret documents that can easily be hacked into by foreign governments, and that is okay.
Is this a great country or what!
That’s why she got off with not even a slap on the wrist – unsecure and hackable by anyone is obviously what the FBI and our government want! (That’s actually kinda scary to think about in those terms…)
It was the White House servers that were hacked:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/07/politics/how-russians-hacked-the-wh/
Searching on Google, I have found no evidence Hillary’s servers were hacked. There are hundreds of articles full of innuendo and “probability”, but no evidence of any data theft has been found.
So comey is the republican mole sent to disparage the Democrats, or is it the Republicans? Hard to tell any more.
Good maybe the’ll finally study the isssues and get on the right side of history.
This is bullshit. This isn’t
a problem for the republicons because they all are in lockstep with the FBI taking a good look at everything you do. The FBI: bringing you skulldiuggery since J Edgar Hoover.
I don’t see the difference. I don’t see how this is worse for Democrats than Republicans. Ever notice the one thing they can always agree on is when it’s time to diminish our rights?
We don’t agree on a bunch of things, TM, but we agree on this. Stripping away our rights is a bipartisan effort. Ugh!
I don’t see bipartisanship. I see short-sighted, selfish, opportunistic pandering. These are hallmarks of weasels, not leaders.
Excepting @BernieSanders, but he is only running for the nomination.
BTW, Ed Snowden says the FBIs claims are bullshit.
The global technological consensus is against the FBI. Why? Here’s one example: https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-future/one-fbis-major-claims-iphone-case-fraudulent …
If the FBI could get into it, why not just do it and save the whole media circus?
Comey is a very dangerous liar.
THIS TERRORIST IS MAKING OUR US GOVERNMENT CHANGE POLICY – how about that! THAT MEANS HE/SHE/THEY WIN – does the leaders in this country NOT see this.
!
load! O shit
The aggressive posture of the FBI under Director James Comey is becoming a political problem for the White House.
GOOD. This clearly points out the FAILure of the Obama administration to represent, protect and defend the US Constitution or We The People. Let’s flush this administration please. It stinks.
Let’s flush this administration? Looks like Mr. NiceGuy Donald Trump is on track to do just that.
I am also of a mind to Dump Trump. No wonder the rest of the world believes we’ve gone crazy. I’ve never seen a worse list of US presidential candidates. Apparently, those with actual sanity, intelligence and leadership abilities want nothing to do with the catastrophe that is the US government in Washington, DC. Why is that?
Yeah, it’s exactly the opposite: it’s a big problem for the fascist-leaning Republicans, all of whom are totally against Apple’s protection of individual privacy. For the purposes of The State, Republicans want complete access to your private life, just like they want to be able to control a woman’s body, even to the point of sticking a camera up her orifice.
President Obama, on the other hand, is letting the complex issue play out in open debate and discussion. The FBI and the police have their needs, too, and Obama is giving them the opportunity to have this play out in the democratic arena of open debate. Obama must of course support security operations, that’s his job, but he’s not coming down with any dictatorial decision from above until everyone’s had their say.
If Trump or Cruz–or, heaven forbid, Bush–were in office you can bet things would be much tougher for Apple and individual rights.
I hope the FBI take Hillary down.
Wow, Obama appointed a Rightwinger to his Democratic administration. How milquetoast of O. You don’t see Rightwinger presidents appointing Democrats.