Author: Daniel McAdams

This week a judge in New York ruled in a case similar to the San Bernardino case that Apple should not be compelled to do work for the government against its will, in these cases providing a back door to its encrypted products. Both the FBI and Apple were on the Hill this week to present their sides of the case, and Congress will likely soon step in to try and settle the dispute. Does anyone think Congress will come down on the side of privacy over government snooping? Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-IL) has given us a clue which side Congress will come down on when he told Apple’s lawyers, “I warn you, you won’t like what comes out of Congress.” What to expect from Congress? Tune in to the Liberty Report:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

President Obama has made his final effort to fulfill a campaign promise to close down the US detention facility at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba, sending Congress a plan that would see a new facility constructed in the US to house those of the 91 remaining prisoners who were not cleared for release. The plan is dead in the water in Congress, however, as Republicans in charge of the House and Senate have signaled a refusal to even work with the president on the issue. But this political tussle over the facility is in reality just a sideshow. Neither side wants to bring up the flawed and anti-American nature of Guantanamo and the undeclared and vague “war on terror” that prompted its creation. On the Liberty Report, however, that is precisely what we are interested in:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

Why is the Justice Department trying to keep the Senate report on CIA torture under wraps? The same reason the CIA officer in charge of the torture program gave when he ordered the torture tapes destroyed: “the heat from destroying [the torture videos] is nothing compared to what it would be if the tapes ever got into the public domain.” As it stands, not even government officials with the required security clearances are allowed to read the report. So much for oversight! More on this travesty on today’s Liberty Report:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

The US Justice Department escalated its standoff with Apple today, filing a motion to compel Apple to create software that would facilitate the Federal Government’s breaking the encryption of an iPhone in the possession of one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple has argued that no one could depend on being secure from the prying eyes of government should it comply with the Federal government’s orders. Wrote Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a letter to customers this week, “in the wrong hands, this software – which does not exist today – would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.”

The Justice Department’s counterargument appears to be that this is a special case and they can be trusted to never use this “key” to our iPhones again. But ironically, this heightened encryption feature was incorporated into iPhones in response to revelations by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden that the federal government had been illegally spying on American citizens. Apparently we are supposed to trust them this time.

In its filing today, the Justice Department (DoJ) ridiculed Apple’s concerns that being compelled by the government to create software to hack its own products would set a horrible precedent in a United States that still has a Fourth Amendment. Apple’s objections were not at all based on principle, the DoJ sneered, but rather “Apple’s current refusal to comply with the court’s order, despite the technical feasibility of doing so, instead appears to be based on its concern for its business model and public brand marketing strategy.”

Continue reading “Showdown: Justice Department Escalates Against Apple”

The FBI wants Apple to create software that will allow the Feds to break into the latest iPhones. Ironically, Apple upgraded its iPhone encryption as a result of the Snowden revelations about government spying on innocent Americans. The pretext for the government’s demand is that the San Bernardino attackers used iPhones and the FBI needs to see their data. The mainstream media, as usual, takes the side of government and along with officials like Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) is demonizing Apple for resisting what amounts to forced conscription of Apple engineers for the US government. What is really at stake? Another government grab at our Constitutional liberties under the guise of “keeping us safe.” How many terrorist plots has the FBI foiled through the use of surveillance on the rest of us? Zero. More today on the Liberty Report:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

After four days of bombing US allies in Syria – the Kurdish YPG militia – the Turkish government is now requesting that the US begin a ground invasion of Syria. Saudi fighter jets have reportedly arrived in Turkey to take part in the invasion if the US agrees. Meanwhile, the US has asked the Turks to stop bombing Washington’s Kurd allies. And Turkey is also bombing Russian-backed Syrian government forces. We try to unravel this all in today’s Liberty Report:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.