Affidavit: Microsoft denied feds access to Vegas shooter’s online records

Unsealed court documents released Jan. 12 show how Microsoft denied the FBI’s request to examine online records of the Las Vegas shooter.

“After execution of the warrant, it became apparent and was confirmed with Microsoft that Microsoft was refusing to provide data relating to/contained in OneDrive online storage files for either [email] account,” said a search warrant affidavit produced in the days after the Las Vegas Massacre.

The affidavit is among 321 pages of records ordered unsealed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

It reveals that Microsoft allowed FBI agents to examine the email content of Stephen C. Paddock and his girlfriend Marilou Danley, but not other online files stored in the OneDrive accounts associated with the email addresses. OneDrive is Microsoft’s online service for document storage.

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According to the affidavit, Microsoft told investigators that it believed that the warrant to investigate Paddock’s email did not encompass Paddock’s other online activities hosted by Microsoft.

“Investigators believe therefore that there is additional evidence Microsoft currently possesses that relates to the OneDrive online storage service, as well as in a suite of other online services that Microsoft offers,” said the affidavit.

The other online Microsoft services referenced include Office 365, Windows Live Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Live Writer, Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft Family Safety, and Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector.

The affidavit shows that after being denied access, the FBI sought another warrant to obtain all of Paddock’s online records that Microsoft possessed.

Microsoft and MGM Resorts had a relationship prior to the Oct. 3 shooting that left 58 people dead and 557 injured. MGM owns the Mandalay Bay Hotel, where Paddock opened fire on a crowd at a country concert from his 32nd suite.

In February, MGM contracted with Microsoft for the exclusive rights to host the largest single-corporation meeting in MGM’s history. The multi-year deal is expected to bring 30,000 participants to the MGM, where Microsoft will combine four separate annual events into one signature meeting.

William H. “Bill” Gates III (Screenshot from Gates’ Twitter profile)

Billionaire businessman, co-founder and former chairman and CEO of Microsoft, owns a majority share of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The Four Seasons, whose other majority owner is embattled Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal, occupies the top five floors of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

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