“No one outside Apple would have access to the applications needed by the order unless Apple itself decided to share it.”

Meanwhile, as Republican nominee Donald Trump called on Americans to boycott Apple, the legal fight continued to reverberate on the presidential campaign trail until it complies with the court order.

Trump made the remark in a question and answer session in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, where he is campaigning ahead of Saturday’s first-in-the-South Republican presidential primary.
In among the planet ‘s most revered businesses and the most recent volley between the federal government, the Justice Department claimed that Apple has the technical capability to comply using a court order issued – but will not do so because of its marketing strategy.

“Apple has tried to design and promote its merchandises to permit technology, as opposed to the law, to control access to information that has been found via this court to be justified for a significant investigation,” the filing states.

The Justice Department’s motion, which seeks to pressure Apple to comply with the order of Pym, seems aimed at rebutting a number of the crucial objections of its own supporters and Apple. It says the applications the government seeks, contrary to Apple’s declarations, isn’t comparable to a “master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks.” And it also rejects the notion the court order put an excessive burden on the business, saying Apple has the technical wherewithal to meet it.

“To the extent that Apple maintains the order is unreasonably burdensome as it sabotages Apple’s marketing strategies or because it fears criticism for providing lawful access to the authorities, these concerns don’t create an undue burden,” the government wrote.

The written objection, already signed by Cook in a message to Apple customers of Apple, is expected next Friday.

Apple executives said during a call with reporters that the firm had worked with investigators and federal officials to attempt to access the iPhone of Syed Farook. The executives, who insisted on anonymity to talk freely amid on-going legal proceedings, said they went with four ideas to the FBI in early January, including a workaround. Prosecutors noted the four systems and their “want” in a footnote in their Friday court filing.