FBI Up To Its Old Dirty Tricks: Scare Americans and Subvert the Usual Processes.

() wolfHere is a simple way to look at this. You own ABX Tools. It is located at the end of a long  street with one other business, ISIS Matters. The FBI suspects terrorist operate at ISIS. It tells you it wants to take over your business for a few months to conduct surveillance. You say no. It is your only means of livelihood and if you stop production you’ll lose your customers forever. A few days later the FBI returns with a court order ordering you to vacate. You are stunned. You had no chance to be heard by the judge. When you complain you are called a terrorist lover.

Although not right on point, that is what happened to Apple. The FBI our erstwhile guardian against terrorist has sneaked into federal court with an affidavit that alleges the iPhone of Syed Rizwan Farook contains information that it wants to look at. It said it is unable given its present expertise to open up that phone and look at the information that is protected by passwords. It gets a court order without any notice to Apple that it was seeking this information.

That is sleazy and tawdry. Remember the iPhone is in their custody. A hearing would not compromise anything. There is no need for any secrecy. Apple had no chance to be heard even though there were ongoing discussions between them. Basic due process requires notice to Apple and a hearing. That is something the FBI  does not believe in.

It did not go before a federal judge but used a magistrate. Her name is Sheri Pym. Now why do you suppose she was picked?  It was a dastardly scheme. The FBI wanted a friendly judge. It knew if it did this in the darkness Apple would look bad or un-American and be on the defensive if it did not cave in.

I figured the magistrate had to be one an FBI groupies to issue an order without a hearing in these circumstances.  I Googled her name and found out that “in 2002, she left to become an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. In 2006, she was promoted to Chief of the Riverside Branch Office. She remained at the U.S. Attorney’s office until her judicial appointment in 2011.” I also learned:  “Prior to her appointment, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Riverside branch office of the United States Attorney’s Office, doing mostly criminal prosecution work.”  

That’s right – she is one of their girls. She worked with them in the past for about nine years. If this type of happening doesn’t stink I don’t know what does. Picking a buddy-magistrate  and having a secret hearing when nothing like that was necessary. I’ve written in the past how the FBI just cannot seem to do things on the level.

If you know anything about the FBI you know the order obtained from Sheri Pym was approved by the Director Comey. He is playing a game since he has gone to Congress seeking legislation to help him do this. It was reported:Comey’s campaign against encryption has run into a wall of opposition from digital security experts and engineers.” Here’s an article that speaks in greater detail about the matter.

He is using a notorious case to set a precedent for what he cannot get from Congress. That is typical FBI twisting the system to create an emergency and panic the public so it does not have to work within the system. It is amazing how no matter who is in charge of the Bureau the old J. Edgar Hoover dirty tricks never change.

The usual happened which of course the FBI knew it would. All red-blooded Americans unaware of the FBI scam immediately turned on Apple. Mr. Know-Nothing, Donald Trump intoned: “Who do [Apple] think they are? They have to open it up.”  He would add; “The reality is time is of the essence when you’re talking about the possibility of a terrorist attack.” Director Comey smiled. He knew Trump wasn’t a due process man.

Bush Gun TweetCruz said: “[N]obody has a right to defy a legal search warrant” which is true but this wasn’t a search warrant, it was a court order to do an extraordinary thing.

Jeb Bush seemed not to have an opinion on it. I guess he was shining up a .45 which has inscribed on it “Gov. Jeb Bush” a photograph of which he sent out over his tweet of one word: “America.” Can anyone figure out why he would have done that? It so much reminds me of something W would do.

As expected we read things like: “This is the kind of case where companies like Apple need to demonstrate that they’re good corporate citizens and comply with lawful court orders, . .  .” Or  we read, “it is unfortunate that Apple continues to refuse to assist the department in obtaining access to the phone of one of the terrorist involved in a major terror attack on U.S. soil.”  Or the statement from the local California U.S. attorney that this is  “another step — a potentially important step — in the process of learning everything we possibly can about the attack in San Bernardino.” She continued by bringing the victims in to gain sympathy saying the prosecutors:  “have made a solemn commitment to the victims and their families that we will leave no stone unturned as we gather as much information and evidence as possible”  Then this by Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas: “Apple chose to protect a dead Isis terrorist’s privacy over the security of the American people.”

It is truly amazing how few want to hear the other side of the story. The FBI pulls a sneaky, underhanded trick that only it can do. People should be outraged that such a set up took place.

If the FBI will do it to Apple, imagine what it can do to you and us other Americans.

 

 

8 Comments

  1. Can you identify the FBI agents who created the San Bernadino Terrorist attack?

    Motive is # 1 predictor of identifying perp
    2015 FBI agents pushing for back door encryption key

    Means
    FBI has $4 Billion dollar annual budget

    Opportunity
    self explanatory

    MO
    FBI informants/agents now identified who
    created 1993 1st World Trade Center bombing

    FBI informants/agents now identified
    who created Oklahoma City bombing

    FBI informants identified who created
    Mumbai attack and Omargh bombing

    Can you identify FBI agents/informants
    in San Bernadino attack?

    http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-nsa-attempting-to-insert-backdoors-into-encrypted-data

    A Brief History of the U.S. Trying to Add Backdoors Into Encrypted
    Data
    by Jessie Guy-Ryan / 21 Feb 2016

    A government agent uses an NSA IBM 360/85 console in 1971 (Photo:
    Wikimedia Commons/NSA).

    It’s been a weird week for America’s most valuable company—a firm
    whose tech products have such consumer goodwill they got away with
    forcing us to listen to U2—who is poised to go to court against its
    own government over its users’ right to privacy. The government is
    invoking an obscure law dating back almost to the founding of the
    country to force the company to comply. It’d be a pretty good movie.

    But it’s just the most dramatic flare-up in a lengthy battle between
    government officials, cybersecurity experts, and the tech industry
    over how consumer’s technical data is pro

  2. ugh
    San Bernardino County Calls the FBI Liars Over Terrorist’s iCloud Account
    Matt Novak
    Yesterday 2:40pmFiled to: apple
    58.0K
    103
    12
    San Bernardino County Calls the FBI Liars Over Terrorist’s iCloud Account

    Late last night a Twitter account associated with San Bernardino County said that it worked under the direction of the FBI to reset Syed Farook’s iCloud password. Why does that matter? Because it would make the FBI liars.

    As you probably know by now, the FBI has demanded that Apple break into the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone. Apple has refused, insisting that doing so would set

  3. Is not forced labor without proper compensation under fear of punishment from the government slavery? Does it matter that it is a corporate body and not an individual enslaved?

    In another variant of that theme, I was looking at yesterday’s newspaper that had a “Today in History” feature:

    “1976: Calling the issuance of Executive Order 9066 “a sad day in American history,” President Gerald R. Ford issued a proclamation confirming that the order had been terminated with the formal cessations of hostilities of World War II.”

    No, the executive order does not appear to have been terminated. Read the actual text of the Executive Order 9066 and you will wonder under what pretext people were held against their will by barbed wire and armed guards for several years:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9066

    When you read that President Obama, frustrated by Congress not passing legislation that he desires, promises to issue Executive Orders to effect the same result, be afraid – be very afraid.

  4. Matt

    you seem a little sullen

    thesullenbell.com

  5. Sens. Paul and Cruz were right to fight the NSA over bulk data collection. 2. The Feds should give the phone to Apple. Apple should obtain the data but shouldn’t share their method with the government. Sen Rubio pointed out the risk of opening up a back door that other governments or criminal gangs may utilize to penetrate all confidential communications. If American companies are subject to a different standard their entire business model may be compromised. If foreign businesses can encrypt but U S ones can’t how do they survive? Who will do business with them? Plus we have seen what the FBI does with information on terrorism. They had it on Tsarnaev and ignored it. The FBI is about as efficient as Amtrak or the T. Carly Fiorina pointed out the Feds are 5 to 10 years behind the tech companies with their digital practices. Is this a backdoor attempt by Comey to modernize his backward bureaucracy?

  6. Matt:

    The only reason I post material about the FBI
    and other parts of the criminal justice system
    crime family is:

    1. to help voters and taxpayers become
    smart criminal justice consumers
    and make informed decisions about
    what standards of performance they
    want the CJ system to operate under.

    REASONS TO CREATE A VOLUNTEER CIVILIAN REVIEW
    POLICE BOARD WITH SUBPOENA POWERS

    1.

    The VCRPB must have subpoena powers

    2.

    The VCRPB must be all volunteer with 10-15
    members that turn over to new members every
    three years.

    3.

    The VCRPB must have the power to hire and
    fire law enforcement.

    4. The VCRPB must set and enforce standards of
    performance for law enforcemet as well as the
    entire criminal justice system

    5.

    The VCRPB must have the ability to expand
    it’s oversight to the courts and jails.
    Setting and enforcing standards for those
    taxpayer owned institutions as well.
    Realizing the success or failure of a community’s
    need for safety is determined by the successful
    creation and enforcement of standards
    for the police,courts and prisons.

    6.

    The voter and taxpayer must recognize the criminal
    justice institutional models it creates
    contributes to the psychological
    evolution of the community members
    to the extent the community allows
    itself to be participants not recipients
    in the creation of the criminal justice system
    model.

  7. Agree with Matt. The guy has been dead for over 2.5 months. Since then the phone has been in the possession of law enforcement. Time being of the essence died quite a while ago. Hot pursuit of individuals or facts means hot pursuit. It does not mean an opening wedge for law agency , in this case the FBI, lawlessness.