Apple says it didn't share pictures or emails from lawmakers' phones with Trump DOJ under subpoenas seeking to unmask leakers

• Apple revealed new details about the Trump DOJ's subpoena targeting House Intel Committee lawmakers.
• It told TechCrunch the subpoena included a gag order and "no information" on the DOJ's inquiry.
• Apple said it gave "account subscriber information" and no content, "such as emails or pictures."

Apple on Friday revealed additional detail about subpoenas it received from the Trump administration's Department of Justice seeking data about members of the House Intelligence Committee.

Apple told TechCrunch reporter Zack Whittaker the DOJ's subpoenas sought metadata about 73 phone numbers and 36 email addresses, but that it only disclosed "account subscriber information and did not provide any content such as emails or pictures."

Prosecutors ultimately subpoenaed Apple for data on at least a dozen people connected to the committee, The New York Times reported this week, but found no evidence connecting any of them to the leaks.

Apple also told TechCrunch the subpoena was issued by a federal grand jury, included a gag order signed by a federal magistrate judge, and "provided no information on the nature of the investigation," making it "virtually impossible for Apple to understand the intent of the desired information without digging through users' accounts."

"We regularly challenge warrants, subpoenas and nondisclosure orders and have made it our policy to inform affected customers of governmental requests about them as soon as possible," Apple added, implying the gag order prevented it from informing lawmakers targeted by the subpoenas until recently.

The highly unusual subpoenas issued by the Trump-era DOJ sought data from Apple on at least two Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee, as well as aides, family members, and even one minor, with the goal of hunting down sources behind news reports about connections between Trump associates and Russia, The New York Times reported.

The Trump administration had also secretly obtained the phone records of journalists from The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post, according to The Times.

According to The Times' reporting, while the DOJ often investigates the sources of leaks, this is the first time the agency sought the communications of members of Congress - a move that led some DOJ officials to tell The Times that they viewed the investigations as politically motivated.

House Democrats and Biden's DOJ have opened separate investigations into the Trump-era probes, according to Axios.