Former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is expected to be a witness at a University of Tennessee student's internet fraud trial next month.
University of Tennessee student David Kernell, now 22, is accused of accessing Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account (gov.palin@yahoo.com) while she was Sen. John McCain's running mate. Palin was governor at the time.
Prosecutors contend Kernell answered some security questions, like Palin's date of birth and where she met her spouse, then reset her password.
He's accused of posting the new password on the internet so others could look at her e-mail account.
I doubt the defense attorney will ask Palin any of the questions that most of us are dying to hear her answer, but I know I will still be paying very close attention to this trial.
Just in case.
Update: A little correction is in order here.
David Kernell did NOT hack Palin's e-mail account. There were no firewalls to overcome nor viruses introduced into her computer to gather sensitive data.
All he did was to GUESS her password and access her account.
Was it wrong?
Well it WAS an invasion of privacy, so yeah. But the fact is that if Sarah had conducted her state business on her state e-mail account, like she was supposed to, this would never even have been an issue.
If Kernell had gained access to THAT account he would definitely have broken the law. However if this were anybody elses e-mail account Kernell would get a simple slap on the wrist and we would probably not even hear about it.
But because he became part of Palin's melodrama he must stand before the glare of the spotlight that is always shining in her direction.
Hopefully that same spotlight will illuminate something about Palin that she does not want the public to know.
Now let them get her on the stand for all her own foibles. They are documented here and on other blogs--how long does it take to get the tax situation resolved in a state of AK's population, for crying out loud?
ReplyDeleteYou wrote that like you think Sarah is the one on trial.
ReplyDeleteI can hear your heavy breathing from my front porch.
Mrs Palin will be under oath. There will be a transcript, if not live reporting, to add to the permanent record.
ReplyDeleteGiven her inability to tell any story without lying, the odds of catching her in perjury are quite decent. She lies about the smallest, most inconsequential things, and tailors them to the current, but ever-changing audience.
If she'd lied about one important matter and held fast to that story alone, she might be caught out, but detractors would have to work at it, and at convincing others that she would lie. As it is, once she states her name for the record, everything else is suspect. Everything.
Since Sarah was using this email account for state of Alaska business, the email account was part of the public record. Case closed.
ReplyDeleteSounds like part of the defense, that the account was public because she used it for state business. Doubt that would clear Kernell of all wrongdoing.
ReplyDeleteWas the yahoo account one of those containing emails that have been released to MSNBC and Celtic Diva?
The defense attorney can ask Palin under oath about Trig's birthdate, but the question will be ruled irrelevant. I don't see any questions she could be asked that would catch her in perjury. Hope I'm wrong.
given how easily palin lies, I doubt that 'being under oath' is going to make any difference to her.
ReplyDeleteSarah being on the stand finally opens an opportunity for someone to ask her questions she or her team hadn't vetted, not pre-approved, not contractually obligated. It is a refreshing and exciting situation for the record even if the questions we want asked can't be.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be sweet if the trial was orchestrated as in the movie Sleepers to reveal the witnesses as corrupt and tangentially guilty for other, non-associated crimes? The kids father is a heavy hitter in the State, let's hope he's got ambitious and clever attorney's.
@hauksdattir, well said!
Anon you may say it's public record but hacking is illegal. Period. No matter who does it.
ReplyDeleteThey won't ask her any questions that are out of the scope of the issue at trial. This isn't a Law and Order episode. As much as I and many would love to see her toasted it most likely won't happen at trial. But because there will be a public transcript I have no doubt it will be poured over. She better be careful (although I hope not, lol) because this time her words can come back to bite her.
Why is this kid getting sued when he is clearly the whistle blower who revealed that Sarah was using a private email account to conduct Alaska business under the radar?
ReplyDeleteOf course, Sarah will play this as the victim, once again, even though it is Sarah who victimized the State of Alaska.
anon@3:51
ReplyDeleteYes...you would think so...wonder how they will spin this? Poor $arah the victim...of course...
Will they have to pay the $100,000 for her to show up and talk?
ReplyDeleteis that accurate? he "hacked" her email by answering security question with things that have been in the public record? anyone can look up palin's birth-date and she met todd in high school, right? and she probably told some "cute and folksy" story about the details of how they met at some point in her strictly AK political days, so the info was out there...
ReplyDeletei'm not sure that guessing that level of security questions even counts as "hacking".
as a public figure who'd shared much of her life's little details with the world she should have A: picked better questions and B:never, ever done any state business on a private unsecured, free account.....
When I was a witness in a trial a few years ago I was asked seemingly unrelated questions - simple things like - Have you ever submitted a false state or federal document? Have you ever submitted a false insurance form or claim ? When were you married and where ? What at the names, birthdates and birthplaces of your children? Where have you lived during the last 10 years ? Where did you work during the last 10 years ? Why did you leave ? Have you ever been accused of any ethical violations ? And I was the victim of a crime, not the defendant lol!
ReplyDeleteThe best trial lawyers are like sharks ( in the nicest possible way ) They can smell blood and if you have lied or fudged something they zoom in on it. They operate on the principle of "false in one, false in all" and judges tend to give them a lot of leeway to test the truthfulness of witnesses,including victims.
There could be surprises and, as another poster commented, it will all be under oath and recorded. This could be very interesting !
nswfm made a great point: why isn't some of the stuff that can be documented in Alaska being pursued by some prosecutor or at least some investigatory body there?
ReplyDeleteThis case will never go to trial. The little creep will plead out.
ReplyDeleteThat Palin E-mail account site was public..and Proscutor should not try to convict David Kernell.
ReplyDeleteInstead they should present David with a medal...for exposing Wasilla's Queen of lies.
I'm sure, I was also one of many who read those many e-mails..and I'm thankful I did.
The big question is..will Sarah tell the truth even under Oath..or will she continue her lying behaviour.
Sincerely,
Eileen
OT.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if RAM has a brother?...and/or his name.
Just ran across something funny I was
trying to clear up.
Mrs. Palin under oath .... So? Do you think that means she will be "forced to tell the truth"? Does that mean you actually think, believe or HOPE that Sarah Palin has any understanding of "truth" or "reality"?
ReplyDeleteMay God help you...we will pray for you...and forget geting health care to pay for the meds you should be taking!
Don't you think they might put some heat on Sarah for having the account, period? Like why did she need it and what was she thinking, and why is re-Todd cc'd on every email?
ReplyDeleteDo they plan to reveal the email contents to determine if any state security was breached and thus stumble upon Troopergate emails, Babygate emails and the like?
Anonymous 5:43 - You are totally right! palin will never show....no one is going to pay her $100,000 to testify in court so what is the incentive?
ReplyDeleteWhat's she gonna say?
ReplyDelete"Yes, it's true; I am just that stupid that I would use "yahoo" for government email and choose a username and password and password reminders that were so effing easy to guess."
I hardly think it's HIS fault that her email passwork was guessable, and that she put in such a frickinly stupid password hint that anybody with a brain could figure out. She was the GOVERNOR OF ALASKA fer cryin' out loud!! Why isn't the fact that she was so careless with the dissemination of internal governmental business the REAL story??
I bet if the kid had had a Republican father instead of a Democratic one, this wouldn't have been pursued. Or am I just getting really jaded?
I remember reading something about all the emails would become public if Palin pursued the case. The way they were talking about it lead me to believe that there definitely was a cost to Palin to pursue the case because she could not pick and choose what information would become public in the case. I do not think the court has a duty to protect documents that show the way she did business as governor and it's not like the documents that were previously redacted deal with national security.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say but giving Kernell a medal is like giving one to O'Keefe, the guy who tried to hack the phones of that senator. It doen't matter the motive, or whose side they are on. But it will be fun to watch her squirm, not knowing what to expect! Get used to it Sarah!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I agree: swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth whilst on the witness stand means absoeffinglutely nothing to Sarah Heath Palin.
ReplyDeleteThink she'll have the Trigster on her lap while she testifies? Or maybe Piper can stand next to her and adjust her mike and hand her Kleenex as needed for her crocodile tears.
I feel it's important to note that the answers to the security questions were posted on the Internet for all to see.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteCouple this with the recent release of Toads emails and how Ivy Frye inquired about what is legal. Remember that little exchange in those emails.
Yes it wasn't right to hack her emails, but the idiot, unprofessional, quitter of a joke governor shouldn't of been so stoooopid to use a yahoo account for official busness anyway. By the way her yahoo profile was a public one. Good god Palin was one stoooopid public official.
Molly said...
ReplyDeleteWhat's she gonna say?
"Yes, it's true; I am just that stupid that I would use "yahoo" for government email and choose a username and password and password reminders that were so effing easy to guess."
Molly, you got to the very heart of the matter. The defense attorney will be pounding exactly that issue. Palin will come out looking like an asinine fool for leaving Alaskan State business details vulnerable to hacking. She's a putz of the first order.
If she actually testifies, I suspect that she will be easily riled and/or confused. Talk about an "interview" from hell! It won't be Hannity throwing her softball questions.
Given the fact that Palin is a pathological liar, I'm amazed she answered the Yahoo security questions honestly.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't hacking and who in their right mind thinks Yahoo Mail is secure, for anything let alone political and state business. At least when the Bush 43 Crime Family did this they at least used the RNC server to get around the law.
Yep, she's definately has presidential qualifications.
They're only going to ask her questions about the case in hand. If anybody asks her why on the goddess' green earth she had such fucking stupid security that her account was easily opened, it will be ruled out. Sarah is not on trial here. Kernell is, and he probably will be found guilty, because it's pretty obvious he intended to access a personal account.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it'll be fun seeing Sarah in a venue where she's supposed to tell the truth, and she can't screen the questions in advance.
Also, once it's on record that things pertaining to her governorship were being discussed on a private email account, then that's something that can be used in future. In a trial regarding her own actions.
One may hope, at least.
For some reason, I can't log on. Okay, I'll post as Anonymous.
Ivyfree
the emails would become public if Palin pursued the case
ReplyDelete----------------------
The emails have already been made public, Gawker posted them.
The kid said there was nothing there, 'nothing that would have damaged her campaign like I hoped, nothing but a bunch of personal stuff.'
She's probably quite looking forward to this. Someone else will
ReplyDeletebe standing in the dock, & dainty,
pure-as-the-snow, glued-on eyelashes
a-futtering, iconic victim of pajama-
clad boggers, 'Merica's own lil' Sarah there to do her duty & nail the
kid to the wall.
Couldn't they have taken a deposition
from a video tele-conference?
She's got a studio right in her home.
But then there'd be no big phote op.
She likely volunteered to appear in
person. She loves hoopla.
Sharon TN
I wish I could ask her a few questions while she is under oath.....
ReplyDeleteI don't see that this kid even HAS a defense. He's already admitted he did it and has said he found no government business being conducted, only personal stuff.
ReplyDeleteAm I missing something?
Can't help but think that if were the prosecutor, I don't know if I'd WANT her on the stand. As others have said, she doesn't do well with 'gotcha' questions (which we all know are anything other than preapproved questions- and she needs her high school hand scribbles to answer those), and she can't have Trig or Piper on the stand with her. We've seen how unstable she can be... this could get interesting!
ReplyDeleteThe best advice Palin's lawyer could give her would for her to say "I respectfully decline to answer this question as it may incriminate me" (repeating as many times as necessary until she leaves the stand).
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, she'll open the door to pandora's box.
Just another nail in her coffin of public office. There is no way in hell she can ever be allowed security codes to nuclear weapons if this is how she handles public business. She'd most likely publish them on Facebook or Twitter, knowing her history.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked for the government, I had to undergo an invasive security check. They went back to my grade school pals to find out stuff about me. I cleared, but it was really nerve wracking. I don't think she would ever be able to handle the finger up the rear end type of digging that is done to get one of the highest security clearances in the world.
The plaintiff is the US government, (us), not Sarah and that is why she is just a witness. This is a lawsuit intending to protect and enforce OUR rights as citizens. I think everyone would agree that privacy laws regarding the internet should be upheld.
ReplyDeleteThe kid was wrong, and made it worse by disseminating the proprietary info on the internet so that others could participate.
Nonetheless, I also hope Kernell has sharp attorneys that will work the pen knife in the plaster to try to undermine Palin in any way possible, including her lack of commonsense behavior of making this GOVERNMENT-USE account public, via the Yahoo profile (dangling the carrot, as it were) and not taking steps to make it secure against what appeared to be such easily gained entrance.
"It's so easy, even a Caveman can do it!"
Remember, she supposedly is no internet-hacking virgin. She rode her way into the Governship on the coattails of hacking into Ruedrich's email account on the Oil&Gas Board and 'exposing' him.
She clearly knows how easily this is done.
MicMac
Anon 6:26
ReplyDeleteRe: RAM's brother. What are you getting at?
There is a reference to him on an IM Blog dated July 27, 2009 wherein a poster says "I sometimes follow Mansour's brother. . ."
I couldn't find anything on the internet. Does anyone know this brother's first name or what he does?
MicMac
She is her own enemy here. And now it will be confirmed that she did state business on personal accounts. Why? Why does a politician decide to do that? There is NO REASON except to HIDE actions from the people. NO OTHER REASON.
ReplyDeleteLet's review for the Palin panty-sniffers shall we?
ReplyDelete- Palin created a Yahoo email account to use for government business.
- College student guesses Palin's Yahoo email username and password using information that is public knowledge.
From this case we learned:
A. Palin is not very smart.
B. Palin is not even grade school level tech savvy.
C. Palin was trying to circumvent public records laws. Why else would she conduct state business on Yahoo email and not the secure servers of the State of Alaska?
I would submit that by simply asking Palin what her username and password were, the defense will demonstrate this wasn't hacking at all. We will find out the password was so easy to guess that anyone could have done what this kid did and that he may have done the State of Alaska an enormous favor. After her testimony the case will either be dropped by the prosecutors or the jury will recognize this was college kid shenanigans. Why should the kid "plead out" to anything?
Has anyone ever looked to see who in this Tennessee county govt is a Palin donor?
And Yahoo email? Seriously? Palin is such hillbilly small potatoes it is pathetic.
Re RAM's family. The following names pop up on a free intellius search at The Ultimate white pages as being relations of Rebecca Ann Mansour of LA:
ReplyDeleteGregory J Mansour
Carolyn M Mansour
Marlene T Mansour
Michael J Mansour
Nezalee B Mansour
Joseph Anthony Mansour
Matthew J Mansour
What's interesting is that the "Hack" performed on Palin's email was no hack at all. It's called the "Tinkerbell hack" because someone did the exact same thing to Paris Hilton. The person who did it to Paris Hilton was never charged. Think about that one for a second or two. The courts are prosecuting someone for doing something to Sarah, when they would not prosecute the case had it been done to someone else. Someone figured out her security questions. How many times do you think that's been done in the history of Yahoo email? Thousands? How many times has anyone been prosecuted? Once.
ReplyDeleteI found an article from last year that seems to zero in on this kid:
ReplyDelete"A U.S. Magistrate rejected the argument, saying that the combination of an e-mail address and date of birth does indeed identify and individual."
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:XnvOY-i2ZesJ:www.inquisitr.com/53463/palin-e-mail-hacker-to-go-on-trial/+knoxville,+TN:+EMAIL+TRIAL&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Now let's all learn a lesson regarding our birthdate...keep it secret! Also I am wondering what possessed this kid to hunt around for her email when he shoulda been studying!!!
I just want to hear them ask her, "Mrs. Palin, why didn't you use the SECURE government account for the state?".
ReplyDeleteThe truth: "Because I wanted to make sure that my emails could not later be accessed under the FOIA."
$arah's answer: Crickets!
However will she explain that she was trying to hide her emails? What was she trying to hide?
Here's what the kid wrote, taken from HillBuzz, a page run by Clinton supporters:
ReplyDeleteEarlier it was just some prank to me, I really wanted to get something incriminating which I was sure there would be, just like all of you anon out there that you think there was some missed opportunity of glory, well there WAS NOTHING, I read everything, every little blackberry confirmation… all the pictures, and there was nothing, and it finally set in, THIS internet was serious business, yes I was behind a proxy, only one, if this shit ever got to the FBI I was fucked, I panicked, i still wanted the stuff out there but I didn’t know how to rapidshit all that stuff, so I posted the pass on /b/, and then promptly deleted everything, and unplugged my internet and just sat there in a comatose state.
http://hillbuzz.org/2008/09/18/soetorobama-supporter-mike-kernell-d-tn-confirms-his-son-david-kernell-hacked-sarah-palins-email-to-help-soetorobama/
People, it was her PERSONAL e-mail account which was found to have NOTHING incriminating even the hacker said so.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, she is not SUING anyone it is a criminal case, not civil, and the prosecutor is from the district attorney's office, not a plaintiff's attorney. Please get the facts right.
Anon 9:47
ReplyDeleteYOU need to get your facts straight.
The email account hacked was gov.palin@yahoo.com and it most certainly was used extensively for government business - as shown by the multiplicity of emails released to MSNBC. That account is EVERYWHERE in those emails, used for doing government business.
The fact that the kid panicked and found nothing of substance before he backed out of the account is immaterial.
Also, there is no 'district attorney' prosecuting this case. It is a federal case being tried in a federal court and an assistant US attorney is the prosecutor.
MicMac
Can we submit questions for them to ask her - just to determine a basis of witness credibility ???
ReplyDeleteOhhhh please!
Oh! The endless piteousness of Say ruh. It is my belief that the people of the state of Alaska purchased and IT platform for the express purpose of conduct of government business. The yahoo accounts are for social communications not archivable government conversations. Without the IT department she was placing Alaskan business outside of the expensive, capable support of the people's IT department. Why?
ReplyDeleteThank you, MicMac. You said it well.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I would add is that the released emails are only the ones the state has so far allowed to be released. Many others have not been released. I think MSNBC has a request in for some 20,000 more.
Not only is it immaterial whether the kid found something of substance but he's not by any stretch of imagination an authority on what is or isn't incriminating.
JUNEAU, Alaska -- An Alaska judge has refused to reconsider his ruling that state law doesn't forbid the use of private e-mail accounts to conduct state business.
ReplyDeleteThe decision stems from a 2008 public records request that showed then-Gov. Sarah Palin and members of her staff had been using private e-mail accounts. Activist Andree McLeod sued, arguing that Palin and the governor's office had a duty to save as public records e-mails related to state business, regardless of the accounts that messages were sent through.
But Superior Court Judge Patrick McKay said McLeod, in seeking to have McKay reconsider his finding, "rehashes" arguments she'd previously raised.
McLeod's attorney, Don Mitchell, said he hadn't yet reviewed the decision. He has said McLeod could appeal to the state Supreme Court.
I have to say that just reading the words "Mrs. Palin will be under oath" makes me smile. Can you imagine having to answer questions that you don't want to? Sarah has never had to do that. I don't care if it is just because some kid hacked her Yahoo Account. I worked for a very good defense attorney years ago in Atlanta and trust me, they can get intelligent people who intend to tell the truth so confused, it's painful to watch. I would love to be in that courtroom. Would just love it.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:40
ReplyDeleteI just reread your post and got what you were trying to say. I hadn't thought of that before.
Is it not similar to her 'firing' of her security phalanx so that she could go about her business unobserved?
In fact, I thought it such a good observation that I am borrowing it to repost on other sites - hope you don't mind. I sent it to Fox News and Kansas City Star articles today.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks.
And the Knoxville Sentinel's website.
ReplyDelete