随着苹果和美国联邦调查局（FBI）准备就圣贝纳迪诺（San Bernardino）iPhone一案举行另一场听证会，双方都变得越来越咄咄逼人——而双方的交流也迅速转为负面。数小时前，联邦检察官提交了一份动议，称“苹果的言论不仅是虚假的，而且对最有能力维护我们自由和权利的机构也具有腐蚀性。”**还反驳了苹果对iPhone“后门”落入坏人之手的担忧这款软件根本不是万能钥匙，它只是解除了一扇门上的诱杀装置。

该公司刚刚与新闻界人士举行了电话会议，称检方的动议是一个“廉价”的简报，剥夺了有关消费者隐私和加密在保护隐私方面的作用的辩论。但苹果公司的法律总顾问兼高级副总裁布鲁斯·苏厄尔（Bruce Sewell）的措辞仍然更为严厉。他指责**试图用未经证实的理论“丑化苹果”。

他在一份公开声明中说：“每个人都应该小心，因为不同意司法部的意见似乎意味着你一定是邪恶和反美的。”苹果公司的律师们对所有的负面言论表示失望，此前他们认为，就在3月1日的众议院委员会听证会上，这场辩论还处在一个令人尊敬的轨道上。这些高管们强调，司法部和联邦调查局都有优秀的工作人员，并表示希望辩论能在推进过程中回到正轨。

赛厄尔的评论如下，所有的重点都由边缘补充。

The tone of the brief reads like an indictment. We’ve all heard director Comey and Attorney General Lynch thank Apple for its c***istent help in working with law enforcement. Director Comey’s own statement…that there are no dem*** here? We certainly wouldn’t conclude it from this brief. In 30 years of practice, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a legal brief that was more intended to **ear the other side with false accusati*** and innuendo, and less intended to focus on the real merits of the case. For the first time ever, we see an allegation that Apple has deliberately made changes to block law enforcement requests for access. This should be deeply offensive to everyone that reads it. An unsupported, unsubstantiated effort to vilify Apple rather than confront the issues in the case.

To do this in a brief before a magistrate judge just shows the desperation that the Department of Justice now feels.  We would never respond in kind. But imagine Apple asking a court whether the FBI could be trusted because, there is this real question about whether J. Edgar Hoover ordered the assassination of Kennedy. See C***piracyTheory.com as our supporting evidence. We add security features to protect our customers from hackers and criminals. And the FBI should be helping to support us in this because it keeps everyone safe. To suggest otherwise is demeaning. It cheapens the debate and it tries the mask the real and serious issues. I can only conclude that the DoJ is so desperate at this point that it has thrown all decorum to the winds.

Look, we know there are great people in the DoJ and the FBI. We work shoulder to shoulder with them all the time. That’s why this cheap shot brief surprises us so much. We help when we’re asked to. We’re honest about what we can and can’t do. Let’s at least treat one another with respect and get this case before the American people in a resp***ible way. We are going to court to exercise our legal rights. Everyone should beware, because it seems like disagreeing with the Department of Justice means you must be evil and anti-American. Nothing could be further from the truth.