Mueller Report Reveals Encrypted Apps Hindered Trump Investigation
The Mueller report highlights how Trump associates and Russian hackers use encrypted and self-destructing messaging apps to evade investigative scrutiny. Unlike other law enforcement officials, Mueller simply notes this obstacle without attacking the technology companies.
The Mueller report reveals that associates of President Trump use encrypted and ephemeral messaging apps to hide their activities from investigators. The Special Counsel notes that these individuals delete relevant communications and use applications that do not retain data long-term, which prevents the Office from corroborating witness statements with contemporaneous records.
Unlike other prosecutors who frequently attack technology companies for building secure messaging tools, Mueller simply states this fact without blaming the app developers. Law enforcement agencies have long lobbied against end-to-end encryption because it scrambles data so thoroughly that even the tech companies themselves cannot read the messages, though ordinary citizens rely on this same technology for basic privacy.
The report indicates that this effort to hide communications extends beyond the Trump campaign to Russian government hackers and WikiLeaks operatives. However, the report also serves as a reminder that encrypted apps only protect data while it remains on the device, as evidenced by the case of Michael Cohen, whose seized BlackBerry allowed federal agents to recover vast amounts of message history.