According to the New York Times, the Justice Department prosecutors obtained data on two Democratic lawmakers from Apple.

According to a report by the New York Times on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors under the leadership of former U.S. President Donald Trump obtained data from Apple on two Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee, their staff and their families. .

The newspaper said that the subpoena for communications metadata was directed at California Congressman Adam Schiff, who is Trump’s enemy, was the top Democrat of the group at the time, and is now the chairman of the group.

The record-breaking seizures occurred in 2017 and early 2018 because the department investigated Contact person According to the report, there are differences between the Trump administration and the Russian government.

Trump has repeatedly asked the Justice Department to track down his political opponents.

Obviously, his request has not fallen on deaf ears.

Although this baseless investigation has now ended, it is yet another example of Trump’s weaponization of judicial corruption.

And to what extent he has endangered our democracy.

-Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 11, 2021

Congressman Eric Svalwell told CNN on Thursday that he is the second Democratic congressman on the committee to be targeted.

“I was told… Apple did confiscated my records. This is wrong,” he said.

The newspaper reported that one of the family members was a minor.

According to The Times, the prosecutor working under the then Attorney General Jeff Sessions made an unusual effort to find the source of the leaked confidential information.

Department of Justice officials not only target the electronic data of lawmakers, but also the electronic data of their staff and family members, possibly against minors, because investigators believe that the lawmakers are using the devices of their colleagues or children to hide contact with reporters.

Like many of the most despicable dictators in the world, former President Trump has shown complete contempt for our democracy and the rule of law. My statement: pic.twitter.com/Pvvb1xYiLn

-Representative Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) June 11, 2021

The Justice Department and Apple have not yet commented on the report.

The New York Times stated that in the end, there was no data or other evidence linking lawmakers or the House Intelligence Committee to the leak.

But according to the report, a year later, Attorney General Bill Barr (Bill Barr) resumed the leak investigation.

Outside of corruption investigations, such records are rarely seized.

“Weaponization of Law Enforcement”

Although Schiff did not confirm that he was the target of the investigation, he called on the Inspector General of the Justice Department to investigate “this case and other cases that indicate that a corrupt president has weaponized law enforcement.”

Trump “trying to use the department to crack down on his political opponents and members of the media. It is increasingly clear that these requests have not fallen on deaf ears,” Schiff said in a statement.

Supreme Democrat Nancy Pelosi also called for an investigation, calling the New York Times report “distressing.”

“These actions seem to be another serious attack on our democracy by the former president,” she said in a statement.

The newspaper said that the Justice Department issued a gag order against Apple that expired this year, meaning that lawmakers were unaware of the investigations until the tech giant notified them last month.

Schiff led the Democratic prosecution team during Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial in early 2020 and has long criticized the former president, calling him a “dangerous man.”

he Handle the case In early 2020, Trump will be removed from office for abusing his power and obstructing Congress. Trump was later acquitted. He was later impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate because he was suspected of inciting the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.