Palin e-mal hacker suspect indicted; at least one other person illegally accessed account
I told you the other day that the DOJ probe was “ongoing.” And now we have an indictment. Yes, it’s Tennessee Democrat lawmaker Mike Kernell’s son, David Kernell. No more wild and carefree campus parties for you, son.
A University of Tennessee student who is the son of a Memphis legislator has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of hacking Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail.
David C. Kernell, 20, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Knoxville for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of Palin, the governor of Alaska and Sen. John McCain’s running mate, according to U.S. Attorney James R. Dedrick.
Dedrick said Kernell, the son of state Rep. Mike Kernell, D-Memphis, turned himself in to federal authorities today for arrest.
He is to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley.
The single-count indictment, returned Tuesday and unsealed today, alleges that on approximately Sept. 16, 2008, Kernell, obtained unauthorized access to Palin’s personal e-mail account by allegedly resetting the account password.
According to the indictment, after answering a series of security questions that allowed him to reset the password and gain access to the e-mail account, Kernell allegedly read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information.
According to the indictment, Kernell posted screenshots of the e-mail and other personal information to a public Web site. Kernell also allegedly posted the new e-mail account password, thus providing access to the account by others.
Exactly as it was described in my post here.
Kernell faces five years in prison.
I hope he’ll serve every day of it.
***
The Smoking Gun has the indictment. It discloses that “At least one other individual successfully used the reset password to access Governor Palin’s e-mail account.” I wonder if that person has been identified?
***
Previous:
An update on the Palin e-mail hacker case
On the Palin e-mail hacker trail
AP reporter e-mails: Yeah, it’s all Palin’s fault
Palin e-mail hack update: AP won’t help feds, tech operator will
The story behind the Palin e-mail hacking
Sarah Palin’s private e-mail hacked, family photos raided; cesspool blog gloats; feds investigate
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Good, I too hope he serves every day of it.
Even if a lib judge decides his sentence, he’ll have to take into account the outrage he’d (the judge) would receive from a light or non-existent sentence. Even commies and other terrorists want their privacy…Can’t wait to hear how the libs spin this.
Some excellent news for the day! We need it!
Good news indeed.
He’ll get a slap on the wrist and serve no time. Five years probation. He’ll probably cop a plea.
Democrat’s son?!?! Nah, he’ll get off with a slap on the wrist. It would be a firing squad if some Republican’s kid hacked into Obama’s email.
Brushy Mountain Prison is not a nice place, however; I doubt he will spend one day in prison. He is the son of a democratic state representative. They will probably end up buying him a new skate board to keep him out of trouble.
This is simply a sign of things to come. Under an Obamination Administration, no conservative will be safe.
Has anyone here seen pics of this turd? He looks like something Peter Brady threw up.
If McCain doesn’t at least make some kind of statement of disdain on this, naming names of the turd and the turd’s dem father, then McCain will stand for nothing.
I am suprised he was even indicted.
Well. He must have been wearing white after Labor Day too.
This indictment is further evidence that the Black Night of Bush Facism has taken over the country.
/sarc off
What a dumb arse.
He’s probably on His Most High Obamaship’s list of pardons to be granted on 01/20/09, along with Tony Rezko.
I wonder when he will be a guest on “Countdown” and “The View?”
This will barely be mentioned in the MSM if at all.
Nothing more will happen until long after the election and unlike everybody else it seems, I don’t think he’ll get more than a slap on the wrist. The only way he’ll do jail time is if there’s manadatory sentencing for the charge.
How much of the general public remembers or even knows about the tires that were slashed on republican vehicles by the son/sons of democrat politicians during the last election?
Better yet how much of the general public remembers or knows about the numerous cases of voter fraud by the democrats during the last election?
He can look at the bright side…he gets a new boyfriend.
Consider this.
And it’s only from a political viewpoint, knowing sadly that the great Unwashed Undecideds can decide who will win.
But if Governor Palin was to make a statement to the fact, that she would accept an apology, a promise not to do it again, some communinity service (you know, a criminal being a community organizer), she would be ok with him being given a second chance.
Look, I would fly him to Singapore to get some cane justice if it were up to me, but how would it play with the Undecideds?
I must add my agreement to some of the previous posts.
NOTHING will happen to this kid.
If he even gets probation I’ll be surprised.
The state takes care of it’s own.
You mean less than he already does? He can’t even bring himself to say the names of his Dhimmi buddies responsible for this country’s worst meltdown since the Great Depression. He doesn’t care about Sarah. He’s just using her to “shore up the base.”
She should refuse to be part of his sham campaign and wash off all the disgusting socialist cooties that may have tried to hitch a ride on her on the “Straight Talk Express.” (choke, choke)
Uh…what’s missing?
I smell a plea deal…..
He’ll get a slap on the wrist.
It’ll be more of a financial burden on the father/mother than the “kid.”
I’ve noticed in the news stories on this that they say his father is a state legislator…no mention that he’s a DEMOCRAT state legislator. Big surprise…
Nothing will happen other than a momentary embarrassment. He’ll say he’s sorry and that will be that. His dad’s a politician for heaven’s sake. He’ll owe the judge one, maybe.
Someone broke into my account once. I wonder if I can get them indicted.
Can we get the latest OJ jury to fry this piece of trash?
if he indeed gets a slap, then what’s the point? I’ve had it with all the scams and lawbreakers in this Country getting away with everything. Time for it to stop, past time.
He’ll be considered a hero and asked to appear on every msm morning show.
He sure gotta purdy mouth, don’t he?
You are so right. He will be exalted, not punished.
How long until Daddy gets him out of this? After all, he is a Democrat, remember?
If I had to guess, I’d say its already being worked on.
Michelle not sure if you care but you spelled it e-mal.
I pray daily in the name of Jesus Christ for corruption to be Exposed, Prosecuted, Convicted, and Prevented.
In this particular case, we’re just beginning the “Prosecuted” phase.
He knew exactly what he was doing, and what the risks were. To go easy on him would send the wrong message and only serve to encourage other political hackers. He needs to serve the full five years in prison.
…Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time…
I would like to know if his daddy knew about this. Kid’s emails might shed some light on that. If so, then ere will be some trouble (for his dad). Otherwise, nothing happens. He’ll be told not to go near a computer for a while, as if that is even enforcible.
Be prepared to be disappointed!
On January 20th 2009 at 2:06PM EST David Kernell is granted a full pardon by President Barack Obama and given a hearty “well done!”
No more internet for you, it’s back to the playstation!
His dad will be in no trouble even if it were his idea. He’s a dem. The MSM will hush this up and sweep it under the rug, and he will be reelected. Now if he were Republican, it would be front page story everywhere.
Remember William Jefferson? Or any Kennedy?
Hey b-cat, even dems sometime fall…..look at Elliot Spitzer (O.K., he had enemies within his own party). You never know. Not that I have any hope. My mom used to tell me, “If you want justice, don’t go to the Justice System.”
Yeah Bob, dems do sometimes fall, but I’m not that hopeful that it will. Seen it too many times. But I am willing to be surprised by events in this case.
It’s time to write the court and demand that this kid get the maximum sentence. Make an example of him. The courts say public opinion dosn’t influence them.
IT DOES.
WHO is the “one other individual”?
If the brilliant and whip-smart Mr. Kernell goes to federal prison, he will be the playstation (in the age of Obama).
He’ll feel pretty, so pretty, so pretty-witty and wise.
—
ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS
Should be a convenience store
NOT a Government Agency
Have the T-shirt
Know it is true
I didn’t think that you were allowed to indict a democrat.
Now if we can just make Sarah Palin accountable for doing government business via Yahoo mail. Seriously, could this have happened if she were using the far more secure e-mail system supplied to her by the state?
If this is the best news you people get?
I think that there was one person who when into the email account to change the password away from “popcorn” so that no one else could access the email account. I hope that he is not indicted. He was the good guy in this situation.
I use strychnine on gophers and moles. Will that work on trolls also? I could put it in their Kool-Aid
These silver bullets are expensive.
—
ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS
Should be a convenience store
NOT a Government Agency
Have the T-shirt
Know it is true
TheOtherSide
You wouldn’t know what responsibility was if it slapped you in your socialist manifesto.
I was thinking wooden stake through the heart.
Hey country. This is not the best news we can get. But it is damn good.
A liberals first lesson in personal responsibility.
That’s an alien concept to them.
I was thinking the same thing, Scrubjay. That “white knight” deserves praise, not punishment. If I remember the story correctly though, several other /b/-tards accessed Palin’s account before that person changed the password and got word to her about what had happened.
It looks as if the libs on this thread are all for lawless intrusion into private lives.
STRANGE
???
Sez who? Network security brought to you by the paper-pushers who run your local DMV. Right.
As usual, ABCNews.com, in reporting this incident fails to mention anywhere in the article that this was the son of a DEMOCRAT lawmaker. How typical. Covering up for the Dems…
Here’s the “story”:
Anything to help the Dems and Barack!
If convicted, he will learn the hard way what C:### means!
Ha Ha!
I’m trying to decide if you’re an idiot, a troll, or just someone who refuses to read the article.
It was her PRIVATE, PERSONAL email that was hacked. She wasn’t doing any business over it. She was corresponding with friends and family.
In fact, you’d probably be shouting if it were what you’re suggesting… If she was using State infrastructure to conduct personal business.
So give it a rest, come up from your parent’s basement and get some fresh air. All that glue sniffing is affecting your judgment.
Was her government address hacked? So you are fine with her using a Yahoo email account to conduct government business? I guess, as a taxpayer, you don’t care about public records and transparency in what our government does.
That’s because when e-mail is used by a malcontent for malicious purposes, it’s known as e-mal.
Until we get news that Obama is being investigated for his close ties with a known domestic terrorist, and receiving illegal campaign contributions from Fanny Mae, and encouraging voter fraud via ACORN, then yeah, this will have to suffice.
As diverse as opinions get on this board, we are ALL Americans, even the severely misguided.
That phrase is very divisive by definition. In my opinion, so is your inappropriate handle.
“Hackers broke into the Yahoo! e-mail account that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin used for official business as Alaska’s governor” (Washington Times)
“Palin routinely uses a private Yahoo e-mail account to conduct state business.” (Juneau Empire)
Well, judging from what the criminal hacker posted online, I don’t consider photos of family, and emails to her friends, exposing other family members’ email addresses, and private cell phone number for her daughter had anything to do with government affairs or business. Do you?
And in the gloating public comments of this (stupid) criminal that he was upset he didn’t find a smoking gun says it all in the end.
Can we make Obama accountable for the stark and blatant alliance he had with Bill Ayers for so many years? You know, your hero.
David Kernell and Sarah Palin.
One broke the law, the other was a victim.
No comparisons or redirections necessary.
Case closed.
Yahoo email use vs. a long and intimate alliance with a deranged terrorist. Hmmm.
This is what you refuse to acknowledge, moron. The contents of that e-mail account were exposed to the world. All that was in there were personal messages and photos from family and friends. Some of the friends were state employees as well, but those messages were of a personal nature. Do you not believe that if there were State business in there to hide from an investigation, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TOP NEWS STORY FOR DAYS ON END. IT WAS NOT.
I’m glad to know that you justify raping of one’s privacy for political reasons. What was your position on listening to phone calls between overseas terrorists and individuals inside the USA again?
Of course Otherside this forces you to defens Ayers and I’ll just wait and laugh my ass off at your rebuttal. Of course you feel Palin should be jailed for using yahoo.
You know, if the tables were turned, I’d love to see the moral equivalency thinking here.
What if Barack’s personal email account was hacked into? And all of his personal family photos, email addresses of other people in his circle, private cell phone numbers of his daughters, etc., were all exposed and gloated over?
There would be congressional hearings on the matter the next day. There would be page one, above the fold stories on it every single day…associating the incident somehow with McCain.
Just imagine that.
No kidding; thanks.
Well, no. Gee willakers! The “far more secure e-mail system supplied to her by the state” had to have been far more user-friendly than any commercial product; had to have been developed using “recent” technology and not (for example) based on Windows 95; had to have been a productivity tool that actually allowed the governor’s office to get work done with some efficiency. Otherwise, why would she set herself up to be targeted by a lunatic fringe bent on doing any cruel, viscious, criminal thing it can to ruin her personal and her professional life? I don’t know. Maybe she’s a Republican. That might explain why she’s so stupid. Right?
Right?
p.s. Don’t waste any more of my time. We’ll meet again on election day.
Salt,
I referenced a story at breitbart.com on my post from the earlier story. That’s where my information comes from. You are correct, again as far as my understanding of the story goes, that Gov. Palin did not send official correspondence with this account. This does not make it OK, though. It just makes it not quite as dumb a mistake.
I’d still vote for her. She’s just one of those individuals in between my generation and my parents’ generation who needs to get a clue about how to use a computer safely.
I hope this “hacker,” who isn’t smart enough to deserve such a moniker, spends every day of the five years in the clink. We all know he won’t, though.
I think many of you are right. This kid won’t get much more than a stern talking to from his father:
How come these were in her mail then?
Well he hopes Obama is elected president.. he will get a presidential pardon, about 12 seconds after Obama gives one to his sugar daddy Rezko’s.
As an aside, I don’t believe that “government business” was all that was hoped for in this e-mail.
All of the liberals were hoping for a personal scandal, like dirty Foley-type sexual messages between her and Todd, or better yet someone who isn’t Todd. Maybe some whip-and-chain pictures, or evidence of an affair. References to her daughter’s relationship, “shotgun marriage”, things like that.
These scumbags wanted to destroy her appeal to the religious right, and depress enthusiasm on election day. It’s not that difficult to imagine.
There was much more than some investigation, or the “people’s right to know”. They all wanted to “tabloidize” her, as revenge for those Paris Hilton ads that seemed to work.
Well, we can say epic fail on that one.
Sarah is what they hoped she was only pretending to be: a decent, honest person who cares about her co-workers, and has many close friends who love her. Now she has many, many more friends who love her dearly than when this account was hacked into.
Liberals are desperate for the “hypocrisy card”, as always.
OK, our reps are looting us for trillions and this kid is going to prison…(not that he shouldn’t)…when is Jamie Gorelick going to prison?
Where is the scandal? Where are the headlines? Why did this not do what you wanted it to do? What is illegal about any of this on Sarah’s part?
YOU’VE GOT NOTHING.
If it was something, and YOU have it, don’t you think someone who’s much more capable of doing something with this than you would have used it against her by now?
In the end what’s pathetic is that most liberals think it’s OK to expose someone’s email regardless if it was an illegal act to get it in the first place. It doesn’t matter what the content was. It was a crime. What part of CRIME do you not get?
Remember, by any means necessary is the Democrat motto here.
Until it happens to them. Then they’ll be crying foul.
Hypocrites.
Could you please site some references to liberals condoning the illegal act of the hacker.
And conservatives would never stop to that level?
I doubt there was anything illegal about this, however as I stated above, it sets a very dangerous precedent. Don’t you want to know what your government is doing? By using personal email government can circumvent public record.
Saying NOTHING is just as bad. Where was Obama? Did he condemn it? Did any of his minions condemn it? Did any Democrat condemn it?
No, it fell on deaf ears. Some were probably gloating over it.
Oh yes. It’s not the evidence, it’s the seriousness of the charge!
Are you sure that those e-mails constitute “official state business”? Suggestions about what to look at or what may come up, hey check this out, what do you think of this. Is that really “official”? I think not, or else this so-called scandal would be everywhere, all the time.
You are grasping at straws. There is nothing there, and the Democrat’s son is the one who broke the law, not the Governor. Sorry you are so disappointed.
Private lives as with private property are not conducive to the Collective. Be it Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Obamanites, Ilovemycountry or his evil twins such as TheOtherSide. How is that Kool-Aid?
—
ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS
Should be a convenience store
NOT a Government Agency
Have the T-shirt
Know it is true
I guess we’ll never know if Barack uses his personal email for official business…since no one has hacked into his account.
Being such an honest person he is and all that.
You’re such a clown. LOL!
I hope he gets to serve all five years. On the bright side, prison is kinda like a dorm, excpet the guard tells you when you can leave your two person room and you have your self a “buddy” to shower with.
How’s that? Apparently, personal email is so insecure that it can be hacked by any hillbilly Gates wannabe. So you would want items such as, say, troop movements or anti-terrorist tactics sent over Yahoo or Hotmail or Gmail?
Can you please make up your mind what you are really indignant about?
Oh…never mind.
I expect that the legal fees to keep David Kernell out of jail will run at least $10,000 – after all, it’s a federal case.
So there’s a de facto civil penalty, if nothing else.
Wasn’t there a person who went in and reset the password again and then warned the Governor about the activity? I seem to remember this from the original story. Some one got ?scared? or realized the seriousness?
So you’re ok if someone hacks in to Hawaii’s record system to see Obama’s birth certificate? Hillary’s passport? Kerry’s military record? (I know, he’s going to release that himself).
At $500 a billable hour, that’s barely lunch and a phone call for an attorney. Ten times that maybe (or more).
And our bet is looking nicer with every new poll that comes out!
I have a copy of one of Obama’s emails. It says: “Don’t tell. Remember what happened to the cat. Bill A.”
No…that’s exactly my point…I think you need a little better reading comprehension.
How would winning the election make a crime OK?
Such righteous indignation! You must be a really caring individual! Maybe you should go through her snail mail envelope by envelope to insure she’s not breaking any other policies (note: policy, not law)
Tell you what, tell me where you’ll be inspecting her mail for evidence on any other minor, insignifigant, piddly, triviality that makes you feel so superior to a governor. I’ll send folks to help. My son’s a Postal Service inspector, he’d be glad to help you to the extent of the law.
Otherwise all I want to hear from you is how Obama’s laundering state and federal money through his family back into his campaign coffers is a good thing.
Fair enough. I agree on that.