Posted on 04/30/2010 4:20:41 PM PDT by Cindy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tennessee Man Convicted of Illegally Accessing Sarah Palin’s E-mail Account and Obstruction of Justice
David C. Kernell, 22, was convicted by a federal jury in Knoxville, Tenn., today for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and obstruction of justice, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney James R. Dedrick for the Eastern District of Tennessee announced.
After a week-long trial, a jury found Kernell guilty of one count of misdemeanor unauthorized access to obtain information from a computer and one count of obstruction of justice. The jury found Kernell not guilty of wire fraud. The jury could not reach a verdict on the identity theft charge and the judge declared a mistrial as to that charge.
According to evidence presented at trial, on Sept. 16, 2008, Kernell, a resident of Knoxville, obtained unauthorized access to Gov. Palin’s personal e-mail account by resetting the account password. Evidence showed that after answering a series of security questions that allowed him to reset the password and gain access to the e-mail account, Kernell read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information. Kernell posted screenshots of the e-mails and other personal information to a public Website. Kernell also posted the new e-mail account password that he had created, thus providing access to the account by others.
Evidence at trial showed that Kernell became aware of a possible FBI investigation on Sept. 16, 2008, following the illegal entry into the e-mail account. The evidence further showed that Kernell began to delete records and documents with the intent to impede an anticipated FBI investigation.
At sentencing, Kernell faces a maximum of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for unauthorized access and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for obstruction of justice.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krotoski currently detailed to the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. CCIPS Trial Attorney Josh Goldfoot provided significant assistance. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Knoxville field office.
I'm not sure that was an unreasonable fantasy, but to earn the netroots' respect his actions would have had to discredit Palin, and he failed. Instead, he discredited himself by getting caught. Sarah's emails may have showed that she sometimes used her personal email account for government business, but that is not a scandal, thought the left tried to make it one.
Still, I bet the typical netroots attitude toward Kernell is positive. They probably think that while he made some mistakes, he showed a proper contempt for Palin, so his heart was in the right place. He can put the details of his crime at the top of his resume when he applies to work for a leftist employer.
Yes. Pretty sad statement isn’t it?
That is what happens when those in power recognize no authority over them. Anything they do is justified.
Thank you Star Traveler for the link set.
He will probably get a fine, probation and an Obama pardon in December 2012. His legal advice probably was to roll the dice because if convicted he could depend on a pardon before he ever had to apply for anything serious. That does not sound like such bad advice afterall, does it?
Cool. Put him on a Dinovite Diet too.
That might depend on the length of the sentence. AFAIK, Obama has no personal or professional connection to Kernell. Unless Kernell receives a very long sentence, a pardon would be interpreted by the electorate as an endorsement of the felony. It would be a political liability for Obama & the Dems. The only benefit would be to Kernell personally, and he does not matter.
On the other hand, if Kernell get's a very long sentence, then Obama might want to use that as a political issue. After all, he couldn't stand by and let a heartless Republican judge ruin this poor child's life, now could he?
We'll see.
Facepalm.
OK, where's my scourge?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2596677/posts
“Palin hacker’s verdict stands”
knoxnews.com ^ | September 25, 2010 | By Jamie Satterfield
Posted on September 26, 2010 4:45:13 PM PDT by onyx
SNIPPET: “Judge denies ex-UT student’s bid to toss out convictions”
How Kewl, the cells have pet doors!
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