Sarah Palin E-mail Hacker Convicted

[PJABBER]

Well, looky here. The Democrat hacker who targeted Sarah Palin's e-mail accounts in a partisan effort to destroy her candidacy and inflict personal pain on her family has been convicted of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer. The jury deadlocked on a charge of identify theft, but the federal prosecutor has the opportunity to try him on that charge again.

We will have to wait a little while to see what kind of jail time he will get, but the charge of obstructing an investigation is a felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and unauthorized access to a computer is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum one-year sentence. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

The convictions in this high profile case make for a renewed confidence in the American legal system.

Jury convicts on 2 charges in Palin e-mail hacking

By BILL POOVEY
Associated Press Writer
Apr 30 03:48 PM US/Eastern

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The son of a Democratic Tennessee lawmaker was convicted Friday on two charges in the hacking of Sarah Palin's e-mail account while she campaigned on the Republican presidential ticket in 2008.

The federal court jury reached its verdict against David Kernell, 22, after four days of deliberation. He was found guilty of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer, but was acquitted on a charge of wire fraud. The jury deadlocked on a charge of identify theft.

Prosecutors reserve the right to have a new trial on that charge. The charge of obstructing an investigation carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and unauthorized access to a computer is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum one-year sentence.

Kernell's defense attorney maintained the hack amounted to college prank, not a crime. Kernell was a student at the University of Tennessee at the time. Prosecutors argued it was a more serious effort to damage Palin's political campaign.

Knoxville Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle, the chief prosecutor in the case, said they had not decided whether to try Kernell again on the identity theft charge.

Thomas van Flein, Sarah Palin's personal attorney, said he has been involved in the case from the morning they learned of the hacking in 2008.

"I think the jury took its job very seriously and weighed the evidence closely and concluded that any effort to impact a national election through illegal means is not a college prank. It is a crime," he said.

Van Flein said Palin would issue her own statement about the verdict on her Facebook page.

Palin and her daughter Bristol testified about harassment and disruption they suffered after some e-mail was posted on line showing personal cell phone numbers.

Democratic state Rep. Mike Kernell did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press on Friday.

The prosecution case enlivened dull testimony about the intricacies of e-mail and the Internet with star power, including the Palins and mention of local sports hero Peyton Manning.

Technical testimony recounted how investigators traced the break-in to Kernell, who was never accused of the harassing calls and texts.

Sarah Palin was the most anticipated witness and she smiled through 30 minutes of testimony last Friday about how disruptive and hurtful the posting had been. Some jurors smiled at her as well.

Outside the courtroom she wouldn't say whether the charges against Kernell were excessive or whether a conviction should bring prison time.

"I do think there should be consequences for bad behavior," she told the dozens of reporters covering the trial.

Todd Palin also appeared at the trial but didn't take the witness stand.

 

[Tristicus]

I mean, normal font would be completely fine.

 

[PJABBER]

I mean, normal font would be completely fine.

Hehehe, sometimes the cut and paste brings over the original formatting. Looks OK now, doesn't it? :awe:

 

[Saga]

The sad thing is you have to compromise an account of importance for someone to actually give a shit.

 

[Tristicus]

Hehehe, sometimes the cut and paste brings over the original formatting. Looks OK now, doesn't it? :awe:

No.

 

[Lemon law]

There was almost no doubt of the guilt of David Kendell, so his conviction comes as no surprise. But there are also some mitigating factors in Kendall's favor, even if he could have, he did not release much of any real private private Palin information into the public domain nor did he use that to commit the identity theft crimes that could have monetarily made him wealthy. He could have sold the lot to the national enquirer or some other newspaper for millions and did not.

Was David Kendell a damn fool kid committing a serious adult crime, certainly yes.
Should the judge throw the book at him and totally destroy his life at the sentencing hearing or will the world be better off with a lesser sentence?

Stay turned to the sentencing hearing because that will be the rest of the story!

To Sarah Palin's credit, she too took the position of not calling for the maximum jail sentence. And instead decided the judge must decide.

 

[Linflas]

I'm happy they convicted him and I hope the judge is wise enough to not go overboard with the sentence.

 

[PJABBER]

There was almost no doubt of the guilt of David Kendell, so his conviction comes as no surprise.

Kernell pled "Not Guilty" so the case could have turned out differently.

No matter how the sentencing turns out, this stalker is now a convicted felon and will have to bear the consequences of that for the rest of his life.

The case showed he acted with malicious intent. Once he was into the account he did his best to disrupt Palin's political candidacy but also did his best to disturb the private life of her family. That he wasn't completely successful in this is your partisan mitigating excuse, not the legal system's.

Anyone who is in favor of having email accounts legally protected from stalkers, no matter what the stalker's political agenda may be, should be applauding this guy's convictions.

If you want to make an exception because he is a Democrat, well, that reflects your partisanship above the the privacy rights of others. If you excuse him, you should excuse the same should it is done to your own choice of candidate and maybe to your own personal account as well.

 

[shira]

Well, looky here. The Democrat hacker who targeted Sarah Palin's e-mail accounts in a partisan effort to destroy her candidacy and inflict personal pain on her family has been convicted of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer. The jury deadlocked on a charge of identify theft, but the federal prosecutor has the opportunity to try him on that charge again.

We will have to wait a little while to see what kind of jail time he will get, but the charge of obstructing an investigation is a felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and unauthorized access to a computer is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum one-year sentence. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

The convictions in this high profile case make for a renewed confidence in the American legal system.

So, 20 years for hacking emails? Then I'm sure you'll be the first to push for the prosecution and conviction - with 20-year prison terms - of those who hacked the emails at the Climate Research Unit site of the University of East Anglia.

 

[Fear No Evil]

So, 20 years for hacking emails? Then I'm sure you'll be the first to push for the prosecution and conviction - with 20-year prison terms - of those who hacked the emails at the Climate Research Unit site of the University of East Anglia.

If this happened to Obama he'd probably be ordering the execution of them without trial by now like he is doing other American citizens.. But seriously, if this would have happened to Obama the trial would be front page news and everyone all up in arms over it.

 

[Lemon law]

PJABBER is flat out wrong and understands nothing of the facts by saying, " Once he was into the account he did his best to disrupt Palin's political candidacy"

If PJABBER was not such a partisan hack, and actually did some genuine thinking before shooting off his mouth, he would realize David Kendall could have been far far more damaging and malicious to Palin if he were not more responsible.

And in some ways Palin was lucky she was not hit by a real professional hacker first, because a real pro would have covered their tracks and totally destroyed Palin. In some ways both Palin and many of us else have also learned a cheap message, use weak email security and anyone can get into your email account.

Does anyone on this forum believe that if a real pro hacker had gotten Palin first, that Palin would have fared better?

 

[PJABBER]

So, 20 years for hacking emails? Then I'm sure you'll be the first to push for the prosecution and conviction - with 20-year prison terms - of those who hacked the emails at the Climate Research Unit site of the University of East Anglia.

I thought those guys were candidates for the Nobel Prize? In any case, they are very likely UK or Russian citizens and would be subject to those laws, if any.

I fully expect, being partisan as you are, for you to excuse partisan actions so long as they support the agenda of the Left. And to be entirely incapable of excusing the like partisan actions of your opponents.

Myself, I prefer equality under the law. And would be pleased to see the guy serve any time at all.

 

[dainthomas]

So when will Palin ever get in trouble for conducting state business over unsecure free email accounts for the sole purpose of avoiding disclosure rules? Oh that's right, never.

And breaking into a yahoo account does NOT qualify as hacking. My three year old could probably do it.

 

[PJABBER]

David Kendall could have been far far more damaging and malicious to Palin

Again, the perennial excuses of the partisan Left for those of their ilk that get caught and convicted.

The damage was minimal, compared to how bad it would have been if the criminal were really competent.

The damage was minimal compared to how much would have resulted if a real partisan Democrat had done the hack and distribution of personal information.

The damage was minimal because the criminal only wanted to embarrass rather than take down a national political candidacy.

The damage was minimal because it was meant to destroy a political candidacy and not really meant to cause harm to the candidate's family. Oh, scratch that one because the testimony shows the criminal deliberately set out to attack the candidate's family.

Keep making your excuses. The criminal has been convicted, only the sentencing remains. :awe:

 

[DAGTA]

20 years...

he might have gotten less time if he had raped or killed someone. That's a sad statement about our justice system.

 

[PJABBER]

And breaking into a yahoo account does NOT qualify as hacking. My three year old could probably do it.

Gee, the convictions were for felony obstruction of justice and misdemeanor unauthorized access to a computer.

If I were you I would use this as a learning moment for your precocious three year old. I suggest using these words -

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

 

[Lemon law]

So when will Palin ever get in trouble for conducting state business over unsecure free email accounts for the sole purpose of avoiding disclosure rules? Oh that's right, never.

And breaking into a yahoo account does NOT qualify as hacking. My three year old could probably do it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dainthomas does ask a valid question with, "So when will Palin ever get in trouble for conducting state business over unsecure free email accounts for the sole purpose of avoiding disclosure rules?"

But even as a Liberal liberal maybe partisan hack, I have to ask, where does this assumption come from, that if a State or national political figure maintains a private email account to communicate with only their famdamily, that they must be up to no good no doubt?

Why should it be illegal or within the public domain for Sarah Palin to ask Todd Palin, please bring home a gallon of milk on your way back from work, or for Sarah to say, Bristol you have better have done your homework?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

He shouldn't have done this, but on the other hand it isn't like he did much more harm than to really annoy.

I expect he'll get a short sentence and probation, and yes I would have said the same thing if it were Obama.

 

[Pulsar]

Kernell pled "Not Guilty" so the case could have turned out differently.

No matter how the sentencing turns out, this stalker is now a convicted felon and will have to bear the consequences of that for the rest of his life.

The case showed he acted with malicious intent. Once he was into the account he did his best to disrupt Palin's political candidacy but also did his best to disturb the private life of her family. That he wasn't completely successful in this is your partisan mitigating excuse, not the legal system's.

Anyone who is in favor of having email accounts legally protected from stalkers, no matter what the stalker's political agenda may be, should be applauding this guy's convictions.

If you want to make an exception because he is a Democrat, well, that reflects your partisanship above the the privacy rights of others. If you excuse him, you should excuse the same should it is done to your own choice of candidate and maybe to your own personal account as well.

Um... hello? You're the only person making this a partisian issue. I'll give you a hint: it's not. It's just a crime. Who comitted it dones matter. Their political affiliation, sexual orientation, or hair color doesn't matter.

No one suggested anyone let him off the hook. They are suggesting, however, that his punishment should fit the crime and that the sentencing should be sane. Which is worse: selling crack to 12 year olds or hacking an email account?

I hope the judge gets it right and chalks a good portion of this up to foolish youth. 3 or 4 years probation, a ton of community service and no access to computers for a year would be fitting.

 

[PJABBER]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dainthomas does ask a valid question with, "So when will Palin ever get in trouble for conducting state business over unsecure free email accounts for the sole purpose of avoiding disclosure rules?"

But even as a Liberal liberal maybe partisan hack, I have to ask, where does this assumption come from, that if a State or national political figure maintains a private email account to communicate with only their famdamily, that they must be up to no good no doubt?

Why should it be illegal or within the public domain for Sarah Palin to ask Todd Palin, please bring home a gallon of milk on your way back from work, or for Sarah to say, Bristol you have better have done your homework?

Gee, Lemony, sounds like you found a way to retaliate against the aggrieved party! Like there haven't been dozens and dozens of other unsuccessful attempts by Democrats to do so since she became a candidate for national office. All of which have been summarily dismissed after the most thorough official investigations by both Democrat and Republican members of investigatory boards and commissions and the State Attorney General, BTW.

Why don't you drop a dime on her and see if can collect the "World Citizen Of The Year Award" from your local Democrat Club?

ROTFLMAO! :awe:

 

[her209]

Sarah Palin is the messiah. Anything done to wrong her must require the maximum punishment possible. Everyone knows this.

 

[PJABBER]

Um... hello? You're the only person making this a partisian issue. I'll give you a hint: it's not. It's just a crime. Who comitted it dones matter. Their political affiliation, sexual orientation, or hair color doesn't matter.

Actually it was a political crime, but the federal prosecutor chose to keep it simple for the guarantee of convictions.

The target was not chosen at random, nor was she chosen to extort money. She was not chosen for her hair color or for her sexual orientation, like these would excuse anything.

She was chosen specifically because she was a high profile Republican political candidate, to affect the viability of her political campaign and to affect the outcome of a political race. That this particular felon also chose to do so by means of distributing information on the candidate's family is particularly heinous. That was the tone of the Democrat destruction machine that was set into motion against Palin and it continues to this day.

By his own testimony this felon made no equal attempt to access Obama's email accounts or those of Joe Biden. He was a partisan hack, just as we have here in this forum. He took the extra step to act out his partisanship through criminal activities.

Like I said, he is guilty as charged and with his conviction will have both a record and, possibly, jail time to drive home the point.

Too bad, you don't get this and continue to find excuses for ill behavior so long as it has a political motivation you agree with.

 

[Moonbeam]

Gee, Lemony, sounds like you found a way to retaliate against the aggrieved party! Like there haven't been dozens and dozens of other unsuccessful attempts by Democrats to do so since she became a candidate for national office. All of which have been summarily dismissed after the most thorough official investigations by both Democrat and Republican members of investigatory boards and commissions and the State Attorney General, BTW.

Why don't you drop a dime on her and see if can collect the "World Citizen Of The Year Award" from your local Democrat Club?

ROTFLMAO! :awe:

At the risk of sounding perhaps a slight bit partisan, how is he not a national hero? He would be had he hacked Hitler's account, and how is Palin different than Hitler?

 

[heyheybooboo]

The OP is a sad, sad little sock puppet.

But not as sad as the Victim Card and perjury played by the Palins.

Between them all this is a match for the ages. They truly deserve each other.





--

 

[boomerang]

At the risk of sounding perhaps a slight bit partisan, how is he not a national hero? He would be had he hacked Hitler's account, and how is Palin different than Hitler?

No mustache? Oh, and as far as I know, she doesn't speak German. Well, she's female too. I don't think she paints either.

I haven't seen her trying to form the National Socialist German Workers Party because she's not a Socialist - or German.

I could go on and on with this.