Gizmodogate: Journo's home raided in 4G iPhone investigation

by Stevie Smith - Apr 27 2010, 04:37

The ongoing ‘Gizmodogate’ scandal involving Apple’s misplaced fourth-generation iPhone has taken yet another twist following news that the home of Gizmodo journalist Jason Chen has been raided by law enforcement officers in California.

Wired reports that Chen, who last week appeared online with the recovered iPhone in an exclusive showcase video, had four computers, two servers and a host of other equipment and documents seized during the raid by San Mateo’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (R.E.A.C.T.).

Chen was not at home during the raid, which took place between 1900 and 2145 on Friday, leaving the R.E.A.C.T. squad to force their way into the property. However, he returned with his wife during the search process, at which point he was served with a warrant and told he could seek reimbursement for damages.

The raid on Chen’s home perhaps suggests Cupertino-based Apple Inc. is pursuing the angle that Gizmodo paid to receive stolen property. It also indicates that law enforcement agents are now working to track the person responsible for supplying the technology site with Apple’s unreleased smartphone.
 
Gawker-owned Gizmodo paid $5,000 USD to secure the prototype fourth-generation iPhone, which was left in a bar by butter-fingered Apple software engineer Gray Powell in March. The identity of the person who removed the device and subsequently supplied it to Gizmodo remains a mystery.

And the next twist in the saga? According to Gawker COO Gaby Darbyshire, the publisher believes the warrant used by the San Mateo authorities was invalid because Chen is a journalist and, as such, any unpublished information seized during the raid is protected by state and federal law.

Apple has not yet offered any official comment on the raid.

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