Senate Intel Chairman: Apple ‘charade has gone on long enough’

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) lashed out at Apple on Thursday, calling on the company to comply with a court order seeking help unlocking one of the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhones.

“We are a country of laws, and this charade has gone on long enough,” Burr, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote in a USA Today op-ed. “Apple needs to comply with the court’s order.”

{mosads}The FBI is pressing Apple to assist in the bureau’s attempts to get into an iPhone 5c used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., terror attack that left 14 people dead.

But Apple has resisted, arguing such a move is tantamount to making a private company an arm of U.S. law enforcement.

To comply, Apple said it would have to create software that amounts to a “back door” into the iPhone. This software could give other hackers a road map to infiltrate all iPhones, the company said.

Burr dismissed the argument.

“Apple is in no way required to provide a so-called back door,” he said. “The FBI needs access to the phone so the agency can better piece together information about the terrorists and whom they contacted.”

The phone, he added, “could be the key to uncovering additional operational planning details and identifying other possible accomplices.”

He also insisted that the phone, which was owned by Farook’s government employer, is “subject to a lawful court order.”

Burr is currently working on a bill with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the Intelligence Committee’s ranking member, that would outlaw Apple’s refusal and force companies to help unlock phones under court order.

Despite support from several other congressional Republicans, it’s unclear whether the Burr-Feinstein bill would have the votes needed to move this year.

Many tech-focused lawmakers have come out in defense of Apple’s stance. And the GOP of the House and Senate Homeland Security committees have already spoken out against Burr’s upcoming bill.