Trump, other GOP presidential hopefuls, take shots at Apple for refusing to obey a court order
Apple has received a court order from a federal judge, demanding that it unlock Farook's phone; law enforcement officials believe that the data inside the handset could be a treasure trove of information about Farook and his wife. The feds are thinking that this information could yield the names of terrorists and groups that worked with the couple behind the scenes, and list potential targets that they were looking at.
Trump, the billionaire real estate developer who is the GOP front-runner, said that it is ridiculous that the government is wasting time when it has information about a possible attack. "The reality is time is of the essence when you’re talking about the possibility of a terrorist attack," Trump said. We need to point out here that there is no proof that any such information rests inside the iPhone 5c that is the subject of this court order.
"It’s ridiculous that the government has to be put in a position where if they have information about a possible attack, we waste a second because that could be the second that kills somebody."-Donald Trump
Rubio was less hostile than Trump. The senator said that "Ultimately, I think being a good corporate citizen is important." He added that the standoff with Apple shows why talks between the government and the tech industry are necessary.
Story timeline
This story is part of:
Apple vs FBI: the San Bernardino case (19 updates)-
14 March Why does Apple need encryption? John Oliver explains
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13 March Florida sheriff says he would put Tim Cook in jail if Apple were to refuse to open an iPhone for him
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12 March Obama: We need to stop fetishizing our phones
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12 March Government threatens to force Apple to turn over iOS source code if it won't unlock Farook's iPhone
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10 March Justice Department files "hostile" response to Apple's last brief
