Phillips said Kernell’s actions in 2008 merited some form of imprisonment not because his victim was a prominent political figure but because what he did threatened “the expectation of privacy that we all have.”

Kernell spoke today for the first time since he was charged.

“I’m not going to make any excuses,” he told Phillips in court. “For the rest of my life I’m going to be ashamed and guilty for what I’ve done.”