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Apple was subpoenaed to fork over Congressmen and staff records in a media leak investigation

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By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Jun 11, 2021, 7:08 AM

Apple

Apple, it turns out, has notified some Congressmen from the House Intelligence Committee, and their staffers as well as family members, that it has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department to deliver their records.

This happened in May, even though the grand jury subpoenas had been issued in February 2018 under a gag order, as part of a DoJ investigation into unauthorized leaks of classified information to the media, reports the New York Times.

At the time, the Russiagate was in full swing, as well as the revelations of the former FBI Director James Comey, and, as has become customary in Washington, self-serving leaks kept popping up in various media outlets with the usual preface "sources from the intelligence community."

Both sides of the aisle are guilty of that, plus intelligence sources are often themselves leaking information with their own purposes, but the DoJ at the time decided to investigate, casting a wide net for more than a 100 Apple accounts, some of which had little to do with the issue.

Needless to say, those who were notified by Apple it had to turn over their records, like House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, were less than happy about it, and now demand answers and an explanation.

What exactly did Apple turn over to the DoJ while complying with the subpoena, though? Metadata, actually, as well as account information, not emails, photos, or actual message content, just the minimum it is required to reveal by law, if that's of any comfort to those that were on the receiving end of the subpoenas.

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.

Apple was subpoenaed to fork over Congressmen and staff records in a media leak investigation

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