Report: Feds claimed ignorance on iPhone hacking 19 times

The federal government claimed at least 19 times that it had no way to hack into an Apple iPhone without assistance from the company, according to the latest count by experts familiar with the situation. That could become a problem for law enforcement officials, who acknowledged on Monday that the claim may not have been true.

The Justice Department first made the claim more than a month ago. In a Feb. 16 court filing, DoJ attorneys wrote, “Apple’s assistance is necessary to effectuate the warrant” to search a dead terrorist’s iPhone. They also said Christopher Pluhar, a forensics expert at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, could attest to their claim.