Are you sure that's exactly what they said? Like you said, this could be construed as a lie and open them up to legal liability.
> Also, there was no backdoor requested
I'm pretty sure that's what the whole FBI thing was about. Write a version of iOS that we can install on this phone to gain access to it without the password.
I supplied a direct quote.
> I'm pretty sure that's what the whole FBI thing was about. Write a version of iOS that we can install on this phone to gain access to it without the password.
That is incorrect. The FBI asked for Apple to install a build that would let them brute force the pin without wiping the device. The device and build would stay on Apple's premises. Again, this is beside the point that Apple is untrustworthy.
Also, there was no backdoor requested, but that is a separate issue. If Apple could install a backdoor, that would make their initial claim even more of a lie.