Federal grand jury hears testimony in Palin hacker case — but no indictment yet
posted at 4:19 pm on September 23, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Any cause for concern? Eh, not really. Our hero left a trail of truth-to-power virtual breadcrumbs to his door.
The hunt for the hacker Latest News about hacker who broke into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account is shaping up to be a remarkably simple investigation, by the standards of major cybersecurity whodunits…
During the break-in, the hacker used an Internet address that traced to David Kernell’s apartment complex in Knoxville. The FBI obtained logs Saturday establishing the connection from Gabriel Ramuglia of Athens, Ga., who operates an Internet anonymity service used by the hacker…
Experts said the hacker apparently left an easy trail for investigators.
“He might as well have taken a picture of his house and uploaded it,” said Ken Pfeil, an Internet security expert. “He should have just set up a big beacon that said, ‘Here’s my house,’ or confessed. If they can’t catch this guy based on all the information posted on the Web then all bets are off.”
I can only assume the indictment hasn’t come down yet because the prosecution hasn’t finished presenting evidence. I am a little worried about this, though. Apparently, the DOJ frowns upon prosecuting people who hack into e-mail accounts and read only already-opened e-mail; according to the statutory definition of “electronic storage,” an e-mail’s only in “storage” when it’s unopened and still waiting to be read. A Ninth Circuit decision broadened that to include all e-mail on the theory that saved e-mails are in “backup storage,” but the DOJ for the moment sees no distinction for purposes of the statute between communications that have already been read and any old file you might store on a network. Exit question: Anyone think they might be revisiting their approach now that people are breaking into the e-mail accounts of vice-presidential candidates? Or rather, anyone think they haven’t already, given that the DOJ’s the one seeking an indictment here?
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I really hate that this is so under-reported.
xyzzy on September 23, 2008 at 4:21 PM
You didn’t expect it to be reported did you? MSM isn’t going to post this without some type of smear.
upinak on September 23, 2008 at 4:24 PM
Again, if it was done to Obama, the person would have been arrested, tried and hung in the village square by now…. after being tarred and feathered
ToddonCapeCod on September 23, 2008 at 4:25 PM
However, it may involve a larger fish to fry
ConservativePartyNow on September 23, 2008 at 4:25 PM
If a student had “hacked” into Obama’s e-mail account and said student’s father was a Republican representative from any state, the MSM would be playing the story in a loop.
carbon_footprint on September 23, 2008 at 4:27 PM
So basically, he’s an idiot. Who was able to get into Palin’s email. Wonderful.
Dash on September 23, 2008 at 4:27 PM
Fire up the proverbial coals… someone is about to be raked across them. (And with good cause)
Claypigeon on September 23, 2008 at 4:28 PM
I’m just sad it wasn’t Mr. Spackle from Canada.
kirkill on September 23, 2008 at 4:32 PM
More than likely that’s what’s going on. This is a pretty complicated case, so there’s likely to be more evidence than usual presented, much of it technical. Add in the fact that there’s a vice presidential candidate involved, and you’ve got some prosecutors who are going to spend some serious time trying to secure this indictment.
Slublog on September 23, 2008 at 4:32 PM
I think this could fall under the penumbra of election tampering rather than simple email pilfering. The kid’s stated intent was to damage the Palin candidacy…if the DOJ doesn’t take that intent seriously, they should looked into another line of work.
maladapted on September 23, 2008 at 4:32 PM
Had some cracker republican hacked into Barry’s email account we would NEVER hear the end! Total loss of unbiased journalism.
Mercy4Me on September 23, 2008 at 4:35 PM
HEY!! HEY LOOK OVER HERE!!1 MCCAIN HAS 13 CARS!!! lolz.
Hoodlumman on September 23, 2008 at 4:35 PM
It’s underreported because there is no direct link to Obama’s campaign. My guess is that the Feds are pressuring him into revealing if anyone put him up to hack into Palin’s e-mail. If he cracks under the pressure and turns state’s evidence on someone in Obama’s campaign, this could blow wide open.
If he doesn’t, then it’s just a case of a young college kid who ruined his life by letting his vicious hatred of Republicans cloud his judgment and moral reasoning. And that’s really only good for a cautionary tale, not an ongoing scandal.
Outlander on September 23, 2008 at 4:36 PM
between this and the astroturf scandel it is clear that Obama is using dirty tricks or at the least his supporters are. which makes no difference and will piant them as radicals if the media would report it.
unseen on September 23, 2008 at 4:36 PM
Perhaps our patience and legwork will be rewarded with a double-reporting of Palin-hacker and Axelrod-YouTube election tampering.
xyzzy on September 23, 2008 at 4:38 PM
A fisking of David Talbot’s assembly of Alaska’s defeated candidates and felons to whine about “mean girl” Sarah Palin
Blake on September 23, 2008 at 4:41 PM
No? You Allah? Get out!
Topsecretk9 on September 23, 2008 at 4:42 PM
Good, it’s going by the book so no charges of political motivation.
HotAirJosef on September 23, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Another concert at Bab’s place for the hush money?
jay12 on September 23, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Didn’t this happen last Wednesday? And they’re already presenting to a GJ?
Wow that is lightening fast for the Feds. Those guys routinely take years to prosecute. That seems to me to indicate they’re trying to send a message.
Dwilkers on September 23, 2008 at 4:46 PM
It hasn’t been a week yet since the inital hack and already the Grand Jury has been convened. I’m impressed.
CanadianGuy on September 23, 2008 at 4:49 PM
it was a harmless prank!!!………..right? ( sarcasm off )
grapeknutz on September 23, 2008 at 4:51 PM
lol… Hey, weren’t you involved in some email espionage yourself?
Man the media will keep spinning this so many ways so that this guy gets off and the story gets suppressed no matter what.
Good news though. When I went to the grocery story for my sandwich I learned via the National Enquirer that Bristol Palin was caught on tape doing drugs. We may get an abortion after all.
Sultry Beauty on September 23, 2008 at 4:53 PM
They need to send a message. Hacking is illegal and if you are caught, there are consequences.
Outlander on September 23, 2008 at 4:55 PM
Everytime they report this they always have to mention the accusations that Palin was circumventing Alaskan disclosure laws by using a private account and oh yeah, she’s an idiot.
God___mn F___ing hate the media.
Lincoln on September 23, 2008 at 4:55 PM
the spin on TV I heard last night(local fox station reported this for once) was that “well the reason he was able to get in it was because her questions for her password were so easy you could easily look them up”
jp on September 23, 2008 at 4:57 PM
It’s not so much that he hacked into her email that bothers me.
It’s the fact that he knew just where to go, to have her information presented for the world to see…. all her personal information.. and her kids. A security issue with her running for VP? I can see some whacko using that “free” information to harass or threaten her family.
Any law against stealing information then posting it worldwide on the web? If not, someone should get busy protecting personal, unpublished, private information.
mollymack on September 23, 2008 at 4:58 PM
Considering the fact that this guy knew he was breaking the law, I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t get at least as much jail time as Scooter Libby!
Bicyea on September 23, 2008 at 4:59 PM
Look, there’s a very good chance the Obama campaign and the Democratic party had NOTHING to do with this. Political parties and campaigns do not conspire with grassroots supporters to pull off “black bag” jobs. You’re much too likely to get caught that way.
And if that’s so, then the story does need to drop.
I would just hope that the media would extend the same courtesy to the McCain campaign if some nut job ever hacks Biden’s e-mail or something to that effect. The trouble is, we all know the media would be all over McCain like white on rice.
Outlander on September 23, 2008 at 4:59 PM
Soooo let me get this straight, it’s perfectly legal to steal and read your opened private mail, but not the unopened stuff…or is it the other way around? Either way, if someone steals someone else’s mail, it’s still a federal offense isn’t it? Or does electronic mail fall under a different category?
kellyjane on September 23, 2008 at 5:00 PM
CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!
…er…sorry…channelling Caiaphas just then….
…oh…what the hell….
CRUUUUUUUUUUUCIFY HIM!!!
Seeing justice done is salutary…better than fiber….
Puritan1648 on September 23, 2008 at 5:03 PM
Since the guy set himself up so easily, i;m wondering if he did it to get caught on purpose to cover up for someone else..
Like using TOR(The Onion Router) as a proxy(him being the proxy, and someone else using his machine’s address.(or something similar.. Him being the pawn, taking the fall to protect the king..
Chakra Hammer on September 23, 2008 at 5:03 PM
Can we stop saying he “hacked” the email like he is some kind of computer genius? All he did was go to “I forgot my password page” and correctly guess Palin’s security question. He was so easy to catch because he’s not a “hacker,” he’s just a normal kid on a computer.
cy13 on September 23, 2008 at 5:03 PM
I read somewhere that this kid, Dave Kernell, licks his dog’s ass, “partied” with his mother, and had an “incident” with a 4th grader that was resolved out of court.
If I remember correctly his father, Mike Kernell, admitted it.
jaime on September 23, 2008 at 5:05 PM
The Obama campaign did come out with the McCain “not knowing how use the internet Ad”(ad that ad was not very well researched), right before this happened.. was it a coincidence? Or did the Obama campaign know about the private email account?
Chakra Hammer on September 23, 2008 at 5:07 PM
If you were able to educate the average person about computers, you’d eliminate 95 percent of the plot devices Hollywood uses to spackle over plot holes.
It’s splitting hairs, anyway. He didn’t break the encryption or exploit programming backdoors, but it’s essentially the same outcome.
And this is another illustration that the Left doesn’t care about privacy, only pursing their agenda.
Asher on September 23, 2008 at 5:18 PM
I have had those truth to power breadbrumbs and they are far too bitter for my liking.
Elizabetty on September 23, 2008 at 5:20 PM
It was Palins fault don’t you know? There will be riots in the streets if she is not indited – or at least a special prosecutor appointed.
Fuquay Steve on September 23, 2008 at 5:20 PM
So she was wearing a short e-skirt.
Gotta love liberals.
capitalist piglet on September 23, 2008 at 5:28 PM
Am I the only one who noticed Mike Kernell subtly throwing his son under the bus with his statements of “I was not involved”? Note he didn’t say “my son”…he said “I”.
fusionaddict on September 23, 2008 at 5:30 PM
I’m not sure how long the grand jury has been impaneled, but it takes quite a while to present documentary evidence. Even if it was a simple trail of documents, you’re looking at about two days. Longer than that, one of two other things are happening: 1) they are presenting additional evidence to charge the individual with multiple crimes (the evidence for each crime must be presented, even if it overlaps with the first); or 2) they are presenting much broader evidence seeking charges against more than one person. This could be evidence along the lines of conspiracy, and communications between individuals regarding the hack would lead them to present evidence obtained from much more than one source. My guess here is that they are pursuing both.
When the feds seek and indictment, they usually have the case pretty well sewn up to the point where it would not only result in an indictment, but in a conviction as well. That is why the federal government has a conviction rate of 90%. They will charge the guy with multiple crimes and will use that as leverage to get the weasel to flip on anyone else involved.
Jim M. on September 23, 2008 at 5:35 PM
…she’s the wronged party, but the Left exploits this to try to show the Divine Sarah up as the worst thing you can be: uncool.
She’s supposedly not savvy on international affairs and now is not savvy on all the many plug-in toys we have to play with today. Egads, I’ll bet that she can’t tell you difference between plasma and LCD TV screens! Crucify her! Shake the dust of your feet in her general direction.
(…mind you, Biden’s “savvy” on international affairs and he’s got his Florsheims squashing his tastebuds several times daily…anyway….)
She’s the wronged party but is being made to look the fool…and this from the party that was all crocodile tears over “illegal wiretapping” and is projecting her as “the nurse of the burgeoning police state”. She has her privacy violated and their end justifies their means.
The Left’s is a bunch whose collective mind is as wide as the ocean and as shallow as the dew.
Any student of history has seen these statist totalitarian morons come and go in history, using populist altruism or some other dodge to get in. The only consolation is that, as under Stalin, they’re the first to go up against the wall. No proper, self-respecting dictator can stomach ‘em any more than we peasants can.
Puritan1648 on September 23, 2008 at 5:42 PM
so I’m interested to know what you people out there think would be proper punishment?
Kaptain Amerika on September 23, 2008 at 5:48 PM
I would think the telling statement was when he admitted looking for something that would sink her campaign. Isn’t that interfering with a federal campaign??
right2bright on September 23, 2008 at 5:52 PM
That’s counter intuitive. The unopened email in my account is the stuff that’s not urgent, important, or personal, like my Rush in a Hurry email, stuff from Townhall, and so forth. I get to that stuff when I can, if I don’t delete it without even opening it.
Buy Danish on September 23, 2008 at 5:52 PM
I suspect that the Assistant US Attorney was just trying to see how much testimony he or she could get on record before the Grand Jury adjourns.
It sounds like it was a brief hearing, which, to me, probably means that the perp and his buddies stated their respective names and started taking the Fifth.
molonlabe28 on September 23, 2008 at 5:54 PM
…weld the culprit inside a waterheater with Sandra Bernhard…
…and drop it into the surf off of Galveston…the folks there won’t mind…they won’t even notice….
Puritan1648 on September 23, 2008 at 5:55 PM
Proper sentence? Five years imprisonment.
texette on September 23, 2008 at 6:27 PM
Isn’t it amazing how scewed things can get when you put democrats in charge of Congress. The dims know that the weaker the country becomes, the stronger they become. They were willing to lose a war for power like they actually did in Vietnam. They are flooding the labor force with high school drop outs and think their voting base increases with each of them. They want open borders for the same reason. Now they want the economy to tank so they can establish a system where they never will lose power because of the dependence on the govenment for a handout. If we let this party of hate win, the country as we know it will cease to exist.
volsense on September 23, 2008 at 7:05 PM
This was way above Captain Canadian DryWall’s paygrade.
BigWyo on September 23, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Didn’t bother them when paid employees of the Democrat party invaded Michael Steele’s privacy. Doesn’t that rank higher in the realm of indictable offenses than the actions of the punk son of a petty Democrat politician?
highhopes on September 23, 2008 at 7:18 PM
I believe the thinking is that once opened, it’s considered your responsibility to protect the contents of e-mail from hacking.
highhopes on September 23, 2008 at 7:22 PM
It is usually not the crime that ends up being the biggest problem, but the cover-up.
If this kid decides to attempt to lie to a Federal grand jury to cover for others (if others were involved) things could go from a slap-on-the-wrist to some serious jail time in a flash.
I believe he was probably acting on his own and got in way over his head before he realized that he was treading in dangerous territory. Backing out in a panic left a fairly clear trail. Regardless of what the real story is I have to believe he is sh**ing some real bricks and thumbtacks about now.
Yoop on September 23, 2008 at 10:01 PM
I’m not. It’s Tennessee; if the Grand Jury effs it up, they’ll just hang him by his feet from a tree and beat him real bad.
Jaibones on September 23, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Whoa, whoa! Easy, BD… damn.
Jaibones on September 23, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Why all the “HHmmm” ing on the GJ adjournment? It’s pretty normal to do it in chunks…
One reason for presenting GJ evidence quickly in an “ongoing investigation” is to grab (forced if necessary) testimony while it’s still fresh and all the parties are still around.
The bill comes later after the rest of the evidence comes in.
It’s not exactly remarkable. Can’t undestand the pundit puzzlement.
SarahW on September 23, 2008 at 10:42 PM
http://www.volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_09_21-2008_09_27.shtml#1222218959
Volokh explains why the Feds are doing the grand jury testimony now, to lock down witness testimony.
Mr. Joe on September 23, 2008 at 11:07 PM
Not only that, but if you read Yahoo!’s terms of service, your password is your responsibility as well. And as a free web-based email service, the argument could be made that Palin (or anyone else with an account) doesn’t “own” any of the messages in there. You’re really at the mercy of Yahoo!.
This might not be as cut n dry as it would appear on the surface. First, this wasn’t really a hack (or it was, but in the loosest definition of the word). The tools are right there, provided by Yahoo!, for everyone to use. I could be mistaken, but when I tried to do the same thing to my password, there was no disclaimer or warning from the Yahoo! people akin to “you are breaking the law if you are not the account holder”.
I read the various statutes, and its a bit fuzzy on this one. Sure, I’m no lawyer, but I can see a few angles that the Kernell team could use to claim that the law wasn’t broken.
ChenZhen on September 23, 2008 at 11:48 PM
But I store most of my email, and links, and drafts and writings in various web-based mail storage. It would be ridiculous to treat that as some opened letter for other’s to view, some of it’s correspondence I intend to send.
If DOJ is persuing, I think they have revisited and they ought to because many people expect their web-stored mail to be legally protected from prying eyes. It’s like breaking into someone’s locked file cabinet.
Perhaps they got their brains hung up on old physical or meat-mail laws.
And anyway, hacking and changing the password blocks Palin’s access to that stuff, especially if the code clues are altered. It blocked her access to incoming mail. Plus, Kernell put it up so /b/ folks could add content to the web storage.
SarahW on September 24, 2008 at 1:59 AM
So what’s happening to this case? No indictment? Is it dead?
Log on October 3, 2008 at 10:29 PM
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