FBI’s Comey meets with top United States congressional leaders

Comey said however the government can not invade into anybody’s privacy without a “good reason reviewable in court”.

The intelligence committee’s letter, addressed to Dana Boente, the acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General, also asks for copies of any such orders actually issued by the court and any electronic surveillance warrants related to Trump or his associates issued a year ago by a federal judge or magistrate under a wide-ranging anti-crime law.

Comey has been front and center in American politics in the past year, first with the politically charged investigation of former Sec. of State and 2016 Democratic Presidential nominee Hilary Clinton’s private email usage.

Comey, who was appointed FBI director by Barack Obama in 2013, had urged Justice Department officials to refute Trump’s claims because it falsely insinuated the Federal Bureau of Investigation broke the law, USA officials have said.

Democratic and Republican veterans of the Justice Department blasted Comey for overriding longstanding norms about not taking any law enforcement action that could tip the scales before an election.

“Comey would know beyond a shadow of a doubt whether there was wiretapping of Trump or his campaign, and if he says there wasn’t any, it’s safe to say there wasn’t”, said Matthew Miller, a DOJ spokesman during the Obama administration. “I love privacy, but I also love the bargain”, he said, noting that the FBI’s inability to crack encrypted devices means the investigative “room” where the agency works is increasingly growing dark, and therefore undermining security.

Speaking at a cybersecurity conference on Wednesday, Comey said encryption is hindering his agency’s crime-fighting efforts, disclosing that his agents couldn’t crack 1,200 of the 2,800 devices they had the legal authority to open between September and November 2016 “with any technique”.

Comey described a multi-pronged initiative underway at the FBI to crack down on cybercrimes that involves recruiting and hiring more cyber experts, improving engagement with outside partners – including the private sector – and rethinking the bureau’s traditional approach to working cases. He insisted, contrary to arguments made by prominent computer scientists and much of Silicon Valley, that firms can retain access to a person’s communications while also providing strong encryption.

However, he does not appear to be in support of the bill.

Companies shouldn’t retaliate by trying to hack back against their attackers, Comey said.