Police take Web site editor's gear in iPhone case

Video: Police raid blogger who exposed iPhone

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   >> that's your latest weather.

   >>> there is new drama over the leak of apple 's latest version of the iphone . now police are getting involved. nbc 's jeff rossen is here with the latest.

   >> this all began with a stupid mistake in a bar. it ended with a huge embarrassment for apple . their super secret iphone prototype exposed. police are going after a blogger raiding his house for answers.

   >> hey, i'm jason chen . this is the new iphone . here are some of the new features.

   >> reporter: it is not the roll outapple wanted.

   >> the back is flush. there's no more roundedness.

   >> reporter: the company's top-secret gold mine released by a blogger. on the website gizmodo.com. the new iphone is still a prototype, not set for release until june. so how did jason chen get it so early? police have now raided his california home to find out if he broke any laws. according to the search warrant , investigators hauled out his hard drives , digital cameras , cell phones , chen 's american express bill and cop tiz of his checks. the man who had so much to say online --

   >> this is quite a bit bigger than the other one.

   >> reporter: -- suddenly clammed up overnight.

   >> i'm sorry, i have no comment. i would refer to you my lawyer. everything i've published is accurate.

   >> reporter: the drama started here at this california bar . last month an apple employee accidentally left the new iphone inside. someone found it and reportedly sold it to gizmodo.com for $5,000. suddenly chen had one of the hottest scoops and blew apple 's secret wide-open online.

   >> apple , steve jobs , probably fuming that this happened. you can't imagine a ceo that is more upset the day he sees this come out on a blog. there's his baby just sitting there for all the world to see before he gets to announce it.

   >> reporter: the website claims it gave the forbidden phone back to apple but the video is still up for everyone to see.

   >> the rest is pretty much just an iphone .

   >> reporter: in a letter to investigators, gizmodo's parent company says, "under both state and federal law , a search warrant may not be validly issued to confiscate the property of a journalist. we expect the immediate return of the materials that you confiscated from mr. chen ."

   >> inside apple , they're sitting there first wanting to know, hey, did this happen for real? like did this really just happen to us? b, did this guy make this happen or is this an honest mistake? just such an incredible story unlike anything we've ever seen before.

   >> that is for sure. some bloggers say apple executives are actually driving this police investigation, but so far apple won't comment on that or anything else. by the way, that employee who left the iphone in the bar still has his job.

   >> but is it the same job?

   >> yeah, right. he's cleaning toy leilets now.

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