I think that Gassee does not fully appreciate the impact of the independence of U.S. law enforcement and judiciary.<p>Now that it&#x27;s a court case, it <i>might not be possible</i> for it to be &quot;delicately guided into a marsh of hearings and commissions&quot;. Its fate as a court case will be determined by judges, who generally have no interest in careful political management.<p>If the Justice Department loses, they can choose not to appeal, sure. But that decision will have to come from within Justice. As far as I know, it is illegal for the president to interfere with a criminal investigation.<p>If Apple loses, they will appeal it all the way to the Supreme Court.<p>Ultimately the only thing that can short circuit the process now, is Congress.<p>Maybe that&#x27;s why the FBI did what they did. As things stood until this case, the default was that companies did not have to help. Congress would have to pass a law to force them to. But if the FBI wins this case, the opposite will be true: Congress would have to pass a law to limit the forced helping.<p>Betting on Congress is never a good idea, especially these days. So whoever is happiest to ask Congress to the least, often wins. The FBI is betting that there is a chance to flip the script.