An Intelligence Committee official has confirmed to CNN that prosecutors in the Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoenaed Apple for data on House Intelligence Committee Democrats during President Donald Trump‘s administration.
“The Committee has continued to seek additional information, but the Department has not been forthcoming in a timely manner, including on questions such as whether the investigation was properly predicated and whether it only targeted Democrats,” a House Intelligence Committee official told CNN.
The Chairman of the committee, Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, along with their staff and family members, were subjects of a leak investigation by the DOJ.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent a subpoena to Apple in 2018. The New York Times reported that prosecutors were looking for intelligence on news stories about contacts between Russia and Trump associates. A source familiar with the matter said that the subpoena included a gag order and sought metadata on more than 100 accounts.
After being renewed three separate times, Apple notified customers in May about the subpoena after the gag order expired.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the news of the subpoena is “harrowing.”
“The actions appear to be yet another egregious assault on our democracy waged by the former president,” Pelosi said.
“I support Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s call for an investigation into this situation and other acts of the weaponization of law enforcement by the former president. Transparency is essential.”
Chairman Schiff is calling for an investigation.
“Politicization of the Department and the attacks on the rule of law are among the most dangerous assaults on our democracy carried out by the former President. Though we were informed by the Department in May that this investigation is closed, I believe more answers are needed, which is why I believe the Inspector General should investigate this and other cases that suggest the weaponization of law enforcement by a corrupt president.”
The Justice Department’s inspector general has announced they will investigate the department’s handling of the leak investigation and the subpoena issued to Apple.