That’s my recollection!

He was the Chair of the Judiciary Committee during Thomas’ nomination, AKA, he held all the power during those hearings. He called the witnesses, he lead the way in every, single sense. Now, he ultimately did not vote to confirm Clarence Thomas, but if you ever watch the hearings, they were brutal, misogynist, but you…

• Remember that important court ruling in favor of Apple yesterday, where a judge denied that the government can use All Writs to force Apple to unlock an iPhone? According to Comey, he didn’t bother to read it before testifying about this case...where the government is attempting to use All Writs to force Apple to…

Trey Gowdy. He’s a major tool and a Tea Party Rep. He spent a few years in a courtroom so really leans on that hard at hearings.

To be fair, he is not a clown. He testified without a prepared statement and fielded questions for hours in a very civil fashion. Many of his colleagues are not known for that kind of candor.

1- I don’t need Wikipedia to know what the All Writs Act says, thanks. 2- That’s just legal pretzel-bending to keep the issue in the courts for a second round. No one would argue that unless incredibly desperate.

They’ll put something forward in January of 2017, and it will be Draconian and terrible. If it’s anything like what they already have written, its insane. And then it will be debated for 3-5 years, technology will change, lobbyists will get richer, and maybe someday in a few Congresses from now, something will pass.

No, there are laws requiring companies to assist the Feds in turning over data. They have existed for many years, been revised, the regulations updated. They are, in fact, incredibly specific. They do not apply to Apple nor do they apply in this case.

But for those close to this, they know that the Justice Department has been trying to get Congress to move on new legislation for about ten years now, and they have just been waiting for a case to gain some sympathy. Justice has been pressuring companies behind the scenes for years and years, but it’s an election year…

Well, I believe I just told you. And as a former Federal prosecutor, I don’t think this is a game you want to play with me.

They can’t do anything. They have no legal basis to ask the company to do this. It’s a stunt.

That was a different fight. How do I know? I was involved. And you’re over simplification is incorrect.

Well, they definitely do not work how you think they work, that’s for sure! But by God, you may be very comfortable serving in the North Korean legal system, because you seem to think the government should be able to force people to act on its whim, no legal basis necessary! Yikes!

Wait what? I don’t think you know what a warrant gets you. They HAVE the phone. There likely was not, considering the subject is deceased, but if there was a warrant issued, it was likely against San Bernadine County and it was complied with! They got the phone!

Huh, what? No one was keeping the phone from the Feds. They have it. The data is just in a format they can’t read. So what happens is, they have teams of hundreds of bright engineers who work to try to hack devices. They can’t manage it, meaning, their guys aren’t good enough to do it. Now they want Apple to do it for…

And he’s a madman and criminal.

It will not get to the Supreme Court because there is no underlying law being debated. That would be very bad for Justice and they would never allow it. They were looking to stir the pot, maybe get a minor win, set a precedent so that they could attempt to force companies into compliance as opposed to having to battle…

Nothing. They have no legal basis for moving to compel them to unlock the phone. To put it very simply, there is no law saying companies must unencrypted data on devices that Apple is violating. (It’s far more nuanced than that.)

Well, what you say makes no sense. In every crime, (there is only one way to know what really happened), paraphrasing your statement, and that’s to have been there or to have live, video footage. The best evidence available. That’s the dream for every case, every crime. But evidence, by its nature, is ephemeral.…

Yes, but there are many ways to skin those cats.