O’Malley: Warrants best for getting digital evidence.

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Making sure federal and local law enforcement officers get search warrants before looking at a person’s electronic communication remains the best way to balance privacy and national security, Democratic hopeful Martin O’Malley said Friday.

The former Maryland governor leaned on his experience as a Baltimore prosecutor in answering a question on whether Congress should change laws as emails, photos and other personal data stored online are increasingly sought in criminal investigations. The legal principles should be the same whether the government is searching a home or digital account, O’Malley said.

“I think the remedy in many of these situations is to require law enforcement to get a warrant,” O’Malley said in response to the question submitted by Microsoft, one of the event’s sponsors. “As a prosecutor I think some of the best advice I ever gave to law enforcement was to say, ‘Just get a warrant.’ ”

O’Malley spoke at an event in Des Moines hosted by the Iowa Caucus Consortium, a network of groups including the Greater Des Moines Partnership and The Des Moines Register. He’s on a two-day swing through central Iowa.

In response to a question from the AARP, another sponsor, O’Malley said allowing more undocumented immigrants to live and work in the U.S. with the government’s permission could help restore the financial health of Social Security.

The former governor also advocated raising the cap on earnings subject to taxes so that high earners pay more into the system.

O’Malley offered a terse response to criticism he received Thursday from Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, who denounced O’Malley’s apology for a comment made at Netroots Nation, a convention of progressive activists held in Phoenix on Saturday.

O’Malley’s speech at the event was interrupted by protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement, a grassroots group of activists who have criticized the treatment of African-American communities by police officers nationwide. O’Malley responded to the protesters, saying, “Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter.” But he later apologized for the remark, which some said was dismissive of the activists’ message.

Bush told reporters the apology was unnecessary and that the incident was proof America’s become too politically correct.

“I don’t take sensitivity training from Mr. Bush,” O’Malley told reporters.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/07/24/omalley-warrants-best-getting-emails/30644741/

“I don’t take sensitivity training from Mr. Bush,” O’Malley told reporters.