It's an election year and the democrats want the support of Silicon Valley and so the war on encryption will go silent, for now. A half dozen people familiar with the White House deliberations on the encryption issue said that they were hamstrung by a long-standing split within the Obama Administration, pitting Comey and the DOJ against technology advisors and other agencies including the Commerce and State Departments. Even though Obama made it clear that Apple's 'Black Box' position wasn't helpful in the encryption debate in March, he doesn't want to rock the boat and cause trouble for Clinton's chance at keeping the White House for the democratic party.

Reuters is reporting that the "Draft legislation that Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Intelligence Committee, had circulated weeks ago likely will not be introduced this year and, even if it were, would stand no chance of advancing, the sources said.

Key among the problems was the lack of White House support for legislation in spite of a high-profile court showdown between the Justice Department and Apple Inc over the suspect iPhone, according to Congressional and Obama Administration officials and outside observers. "They've dropped anchor and taken down the sail," former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden said.

In addition, the CIA and NSA were ambivalent, according to several current and former intelligence officials, in part because officials in the agencies feared any new law would interfere with their own encryption efforts.

Even supporters worried that if a bill were introduced but failed, it would give Apple and other tech companies another weapon to use in future court battles.

Though once the election is over, the issue is likely to be revived. Just last week Senators Burr and Feinstein told Reuters there was no timeline for the bill. Feinstein said she planned to talk to more tech stakeholders, and Burr said to "be patient."

In the end, the Reuters report stated that "there was reluctance to take on the tech industry in an election year." That is painfully evident.

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