The US Justice Department during former President Donald Trump’s administration subpoenaed Apple Inc for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, a New York Times report reveals. This was, according to the report, an attempt by the Republican leader to find out the entity behind the leaks during his tenure. 

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The White House under Donald Trump reported at least 334 leaks, a record, as per a Justice Department document obtained by The Intercept in March. These leaks included details of the talks between then-Russian Ambassador Sergey I Kislyak and Trump’s senior national security adviser Michael Flynn. The leak eventually led to Flynn’s resignation.

Trump often referred to leakers and whistleblowers as ‘traitors and cowards’. And the New York Times revealed one of his rampant measures to curb the leaks. 

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According to the report, records of at least a dozen people tied to the intelligence committee were seized in 2017 and early 2018. Representative Adam Schiff’s records were also taken into consideration. Schiff is the chairman of the committee. 

According to the New York Times, Apple turned over only metadata and account information, not photos, emails or other content. 

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Prosecutors under Jeff Sessions, the first attorney general in Trump’s Republican administration, were seeking to find the sources behind media reports about contacts between Trump associates and Russia, the report added.

“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,” Schiff told Reuters.