A former college student charged with hacking Sarah Palin's e-mail account fears some jurors in heavily Republican East Tennessee could be dazzled when the conservative star testifies.
Jury selection begins Tuesday and Palin's testimony could soon follow in the case against 22-year-old David Kernell.
An attorney for Palin, Thomas Van Flein of Anchorage, Alaska, said in an e-mail that the former governor has been subpoenaed by prosecutors "and she will honor that commitment." Van Flein declined to comment about the case or about how Palin feels about it.
I am very excited at the prospect of hearing what Palin is asked on the witness stand, and what her answers to the questions might be without a script or scribblings on her hand to guide her. This could be very interesting indeed.
However there is some question as to whether or not David Kernell will receive a fair trial in Tennessee.
"If I was the individual being charged I would be concerned, particularly the other party," East Tennessee State University political analyst David Briley said. "Politics and religion are pretty close to the vest here."
Of course the eyes of the world are on Tennessee's justice system, so if there is any undue prejudice it will not escape the scrutiny of media from all over the world.
Update: According to WBIR in Knoxville:
During jury selection Tuesday morning in the case of a UT student accused of illegally accessing former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's e-mail, it was revealed that much of the Palin family will be called as witnesses.
Prosecutors announced the names of two dozen potential witnesses, including Sarah Palin, husband Todd Palin, and eldest daughter Bristol Palin.
Holy crap! And THIS comes from the PROSECUTION side of the trial? Oh this just got much, much more interesting!
Any word yet on the details of her contract and speaking fees for this appearance? ;)
ReplyDeleteThe Big Question!
ReplyDeleteWill David Kernell recieve "Palin Children Justice" or "Todd and Sarah Justice"?
Willow was not charged for Breaking and Entering!
Track did not go to jail for destroying school buses!
Piper did not go to juvenile for missing a lot of school!
Todd did not go to jail for passing on company confidential information?
Sarah did not go to jail for everything she stole or lied about!
Whenever we saw pictures of Sarah Palin, she always carried two blackberries in her hand. I am trying to remember which email account the kid is accused of hacking. If it was the Alaska government account, then it would be subject to open records.
ReplyDeleteBut, I think it was Sarah's personal account because there were photos of the family among the emails. (Wouldn't be proper on a government account, now would it?)
And, the thing that the hacker revealed was that Sarah was carrying out government business and copying Todd on a private account. So, who's the bad guy? The one who revealed that a private account was used to hide government business- or the governor who was not entitled to expectations of privacy since government business is subject to open records provisions.
Conclusion: The wrong person is on trial here. Alaska should have charged Sarah with conducting government business on a private account. But I forgot, no matter what the ethics violation was, Sarah was never found guilty of anything.
gryphen did you see that one of the charges against this kid is "obstructing an FBI investigation?" wonder what THAT'S all about?
ReplyDeleteI don't think it will go well for young David Kernell; conservative sentiment for Palin is too high in TN, unless his attorney has some great cards up his sleeve. Hopefully the judge will be lenient with sentencing.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if she allows Tripp (and maybe even Trig) to call her 'grandma.'
ReplyDeleteAnon@7:17am you are so correct. The wrong person is on trial here. I don't think the young man will get a fair shake there in Tennessee, as has been pointed out many times, that is a very right-wing ultra conservative part of the country. They will just be so happy to get a close up look at the Queen of Duh; they don't care anything about some young son of a Democrat no less. Yes, Sarah Palin and her children get away with everything. I am going to be very surprised if this is any different.
ReplyDeleteOhh. I feel bad for this kid, but not too bad.
ReplyDeleteThere are ways to remain anonymous and get stuff out. Going to wikileaks comes to mind. There probably was more incriminating evidence within that email account (babygate, etc)...and because of his stupidity on wanting to brag about it, all was lost, and he's on trial.
She won't get pre-submitted questions from the defense, that's for sure. I'm sure the prosecution has coached all of them, any of them, on what questions he will ask, of course.
ReplyDeleteI truly, truly hope the defense catches her in a lie, and she's found to have perjured herself, because after all, she's a pathological liar.
This will be interesting to see how this young man fares compared to the vile James & Co. who attempted to bug Mary Landreiu's office.
(A minor quibble w/the professor: I thought the phrase "close to the vest" meant something opposite from the way he used it. Didn't he really mean Tennesseans wear their politics and religion on their sleeves?)
I think the kid should be hailed as a
ReplyDeletewhistleblower! Really - her family members will being called as witnesses?
Sharon TN
Oh, won't it be sweet if the defense can get to the issue of Palin hacking an email account while she was with the Oil and Gas Commission, then using what she found as the basis for an ethics complaint. (Randy Reudrich's account if I remember right.)
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know who brought the formal charges? Was it the FBI or the Palins?
ReplyDeleteWhere is Sarah's Christian compassion for a young person whose life could be ruined simply because he was trying to expose her duplicity with the citizens she swore to serve.
Oh, I forget, she's not a true Christian, she is a Xhristian - one of those people who use their religion for their own purposes not dedicate themselves to serve Christ in humility and grace. Why can't see ask for mercy for this kid? He didn't swindle her or anyone else.
I think he must have uncovered something sensitive that he himself might not have recognized as damaging to her career.
I am not advocating hacking, and I think he has to learn a lesson about respecting the privacy of even someone as corrupt as Sarah, but she doesn't have clean hands in this affair either. She crossed the line by using private accounts for state business.
I think a conviction with probation would be enough to scare this young man into leading a more circumspect life.
I don't think anything can scare Sarah straight. She seems to be too far gone to care about the consequences of her actions.
This is a criminal case not a civil case. The Palins are not in charge who gets called as a witness or what questions will be asked.
ReplyDeleteBy the way there is no love lost between the Palin and FBI up here in Alaska. Or so I hear.
I am wondering why he did not ask for a change of venue, if Tennessee is such a pro-$arah country ('state', of course ;))...
ReplyDeleteHe did not HACK. He guessed her password, Wasilla High or something.
ReplyDeleteand it was the secret yahoo account, not her official state account
I did a little looking re: FBI and found an old article. I think you will find this interesting. Report: FBI searches Tenn. student's apartment in Palin hacking case
ReplyDeletehttp://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9115238/Report_FBI_searches_Tenn._student_s_apartment_in_Palin_hacking_case
Having gone to college at the same university as this kid, lived in Knoxville for 7 years--I can say that this kid probably doesn't stand a chance. Knoxville is one of the most Republican towns I've ever lived in. That corner of East TN almost left the state of TN when it seceded from the union during the civil war. The newspapers will have tried this kid already, and Her Worship will be treated like a rock star. The defense's motions will be denied at every turn, and objections overruled for BS reasons. I will be SHOCKED if it happens any other way.
ReplyDeleteGet out your barf bags, boys and girls. If the last few weeks of "speeches" were nausea-inducing for you, you're about to start the projectile vomiting.
Sarah in SC (posting anon b/c of the google)
is "obstructing an FBI investigation?"
ReplyDelete================================
He tried to hide one of his computers.
Palin hacking an email account while she was with the Oil and Gas Commission, then using what she found as the basis for an ethics complaint
ReplyDelete============================
Not true. Randy Reudrich was using State fax machines and office resources to do party business. Everyone does a little political work on the clock, including Palin and Obama. In Reudrich's case, that's ALL he did.
Alaska should have charged Sarah with conducting government business on a private account
ReplyDelete==================================
Asked and answered, your honor. This has already been to the Alaska courts and they ruled in Palin's favor.
What she did was copy some official emails to her personal account so she could review them later - Official state email servers are hard to access remotely. Her actions were completely legal and understandable. All of the emails on her personal account were also saved in the State system and recovered by FOIA requests.
I don't think the young man will get a fair shake there in Tennessee
ReplyDelete==============================
The kid admitted he hacked into her account looking for things to damage her campaign and didn't find anything. That's no different than going through Obama's mail box looking for bank statements.
As Baretta used to say, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."
there is no love lost between the Palin and FBI up here in Alaska. Or so I hear.
ReplyDelete---------------------------------
Really? The FBI investigated Palin? What was the outcome of that?
Oh that's right, nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. Zilch.
Gryphen - have you heard about how Sarah suffered an emotional breakdown early last summer - right before her resignation and that breakdown, coupled with her anger at virtually everything having to do with Alaska (remember her famous quote on the VP trail that "Whatever happens, I just don't want to have to go back to Alaska") and her desire to cash in - not so much for the money, although she dearly loves that - but more to cash in on the fame and adulation so many of the deceived are willing to lavish on her, combined to create the perfect storm wherein she just called Todd, called Sean and headed out to the back of her house to throw the towel in (or, yikes, pardon me, to reload, not retreat).
ReplyDeleteHave you heard about this? I remember people speculating that she had suffered some sort of mental / emotional breakdown but apparently among Alaska's State lawmakers - starting with Republicans, it is an open and known, though still whispered about, fact.
I had never heard anything backing up these rumors as factual. Have you? Or any other reader of this site? It's curious.
A jury has been seated in Knoxville to hear the case against a former college student charged with hacking Sarah Palin's e-mail account.
ReplyDeleteOpening statements by attorneys are expected later today.
A jury of 12 was seated and two alternates were chosen this morning to hear the case against 22-old David Kernell.
He was a student at the University of Tennessee when he was accused of hacking the Yahoo! account that then-Republican vice presidential candidate Palin sometimes used for state business as governor of Alaska.
Palin is expected to testify at Kernell's trial. It isn't yet clear when she will appear.
Not so fast, Anonymous at 10:10 - there was an email sent from someone re: state business to Palin's .gov email account and someone (Ivey?) told him to use her private yahoo account. While the AK courts may have ruled in her favor, it's because of the vagueness of the law. The lack of transparency may have been legal in this case, but not ethical.
ReplyDelete(I'm sure another reader can come up with the specific details I am missing...)
Does anyone know if the Courtroom will have TV cameras for coverage or is it a closed Court Room.
ReplyDeleteIf not pictures... will there be any ' audio '..? The defense might not know all of the background stories and Lies but if we have audio or written copies/transcripts... we can use that.
if it wasnt her account this would not even be a baby radar blip.
ReplyDeleteWho's paying their way to the trial, the public or her pac? Little government indeed. Is the public putting her up in a luxury hotel?
ReplyDeleteper her majesty's request, no cameras, media, and all questions must be submitted in advance.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, this cyber attack requires a nuke-u-lur response!
10:10 maybe if Palin spent some time in her office she could have answered her government account emails there.
ReplyDeleteShe made it very obvious that she used a Yahoo account so her emails (she thought) would not be subject to public exposure. The joke was on her, though.
The fact that the Yahoo account was so accessible made it easy pickings.
Now she has to go to TN and testify in public, and answer non-prescreened questions, which is her worst nightmare (aside from not making an obscene speaker's fee and being flown in on a big private jet at someone else's expense).
I'll be she is kicking herself now.
It seems a law/laws were broken. I just hope Kernell gets a fair trial and conscientious, reasonable jurors. Gotta wonder why there wasn't a plea bargain to a lesser charge -- 4 felony counts with up to 50 years jail time appears outrageous.
ReplyDelete-----
I feel the urge to say 'Hi!' to RAM. I wonder if you get along with Ivy Frye.
Conclusion: The wrong person is on trial here.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more. The Palins have one thing going for them, they do most of their criminal activity in Alaska where they have a free pass and are allowed to unjustly destroy the lives of others, children are the easiest victims for them to demolish. Thank you last frontier for your monumental weakness, you are due a giant purge under the RICO law! May the few with guts make their stand against the Palin cancer. Bring it on.
I truly, truly hope the defense catches Sarah, Todd and Bristol in lies. I truly, truly hope Frank Bailey is in court or has a transcript ASAP.
ReplyDeleteTo the commenter who used the word Xhristian above, you are so on it: I have never seen that, but the very people who rant and rave over the use of X-mas every year are the very ones who have taken Christ out of Christian because they certainly are not following the teachings of Christ as I know them to be.
ReplyDeleteAnd to the anonymous who seems to feel that Palin did nothing wrong by using her private email account(s) for government business: there is so much more to it and I hope it comes out in this trial or at least enough to press the issue on the extent to which Palin mis-governed the State of Alaska. The emails already released to MSNBC show that emails received in her office on her state account were forwarded by her assistants not just to her BUT to Todd Palin and not just for the purpose of him printing them out for her, or sending to her to review later, but actually asking him whether she needed to see them, asking him how to respond to them, asking him about the persons or policies contained therin. There is a very big picture of deception, lack of transparency, and mystery as to where Sarah was and why Todd seemed to be making decisions that would affect the governance of Alaska. So you are blowing smoke and I hope clearer times are ahead instead!
I posted this comment on the Child Support thread, but am going to post it again here, if it's okay with Gryphen. The foul emails, faxes, and voicemails directed at Senator Yee have destroyed whatever patience I had left for waiting on Sarah Palin's take-down.
ReplyDeletePeople with the information that will bring her down, the time to act is NOW. No book contract, million dollar promise, or notoriety can possibly be worth more than saving your country.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anon @ 8:02, I agree.
Is the sense of not being part of the Lower 48 so strong in Alaska that those of you who have the information to bring Sarah Palin down are unaware of the ramifications of her words and actions outside of Alaska? When every opportunity she has to bash our President and our leaders brings us a step closer to a national tragedy?
Sure it's fun to laugh at Sarah Palin because she is not very intelligent, well-spoken, etc. ...but she is NOT funny, and the anger that she is encouraging in the rest of the county will get harder and harder to stop. I understand being afraid of retaliation, of being ostracized by your community, if you came forward with the information that would put a stop to Palin once and for all. But the time has come to put concerns for yourself aside and be the change you want to see in the world. A world where you have exposed Palin for what she is, and she is no longer relevant or dangerous. Yes, many of her fans would not care if she was exposed as a kitten-stomping cannibal, but for the majority of people, exposing her as a fraud and/or a criminal is doing a national service to our country and probably saving lives in the process.
Please, see the bigger picture. It's more than Wasilla or Alaska at stake now. People take chances every day to expose what they know is wrong. They put themselves and even their loved ones and way of life on the line to do what they know is the right thing.
Ask yourself: if something tragic DOES happen, and it links back to Sarah Palin, can you live with yourself knowing you stood by and did nothing??
It is obvious one of Palin's paid consultants is here trying to buff up Sarah's image.
ReplyDeleteAnon@10:10, You are convincing NO ONE when you claim that all Palin did was copy some official emails to her personal account to review them later. MANY if not MOST emails were sent TO and FROM personal email to AVOID being on the State system.
Good try, but no banana.
Anon@10:12... seems like Palin's kids do all sorts of crimes yet never do the time. WWBS? (what would barretta say?)
ReplyDeleteBefore everyone was concerned only with Palin, there was a concern for corruption in politics in general.
ReplyDeleteGryph even used to cover it.
That corruption in Alaska and in the Alaska legislature hasn't gone away,
...it's still being practiced, it isn't even hidden anymore.
It's front page news now and everyone seems to be ignoring it.
The news today out of the Alaska legislature is that they're paying to set up a Houston Texas company and pay the costs of that Houston Texas company's business.
Think the state will get the profits ?
Nope. The legislature just figures they should spend our money setting up private business so those private businesses can go on to make their profits.
The private business owner is quoted as saying he's thrilled the state is going to pick up most of the costs for his business.
(gee whiz, I would be thrilled too, if the state was picking up most of the costs of my business, .....wouldn't you ? )
He says that the state picking up his business costs and paying them for him is going to make it easier for him to sell his business plan and borrow even more money.
What the hey, right ? The banks will undoubtedly lavish money on him since the State of Alaska is paying the costs of his business.
Do you suppose any of the local 'tea-baggers' are demonstrating about this ? You know who I'm talking about, those folks who say government shouldn't be intruding into their lives.....
Do you suppose any of the corruption watchdogs are making sure this sort of political payoff isn't happening anymore ?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha .
Instead of making their payoffs in hotel rooms, they now cut the checks right out of the state treasury and make the deals right on the floor of the capitol building with press releases announcing the deals.
..
I've got a question for any business owner reading this right now.
Are most of your business costs paid for you by the State of Alaska ?
If not, ...why not ?
..
While everyone's tracking Palin's every move, they appear content to ignore pretty much anything else.
Since Palin was created as a diversion away from reality, and all things Palin are specifically meant to divert your attention,
....doesn't the evidence show that you're proving the diversion was perfectly crafted and executed?
I was looking for a follow-up story to the CSU Stanislaus case and the most recent racist hate emails and faxes sent to Sen. Yee. They posted a story yesterday but that was before the calls and emails threatening him.
ReplyDeleteThey do post a story about the email-hacking case in Tenn. Based on this report... it sounds like this guy is like your Alaskan Judges. He and his courtroom jurrors seem to be dazed by the ' Celebrity ' coming to town. Can we just call them " FANS of Sarah"..? This Defense Attorney better be REALLY GOOD... this kid will need it.
http://www.kcra.com/politics/23203462/detail.html
I too am curious but thrilled that the prosecution subpoenaed not just SP but others.
ReplyDeleteThe only strategy I see immediately is that putting them on the stand opens them up to possible perjury, therefore being a grand annoyance and possible opening up of other cases. That in and of itself does not help the client/defense.
Is a case of this nature always treated as a criminal offense? Is there any precedent for people who have done what Kernell has done to be treated severely (with long jail sentences)?
That's the justice I want to see done. He did what he did. His punishment should be in accord with the damage done and should not be excessive with respect to other similar cases.
Sorry, but Palin did hack into Ruedrich's email account with the help of an office IT guy. The official version is that she was directed to do so by the AG. . .and there was more than just party politicking going on that was exposed, Ruedrich was improperly lobbying for Evergreen Resources, which, from what I have researched, Palin herself came perilously close to being accused of doing the same.
ReplyDeletePalin's immediate supervisor on the OGB had a $100,000 investment in Evergreen.
Both he and Ruedrich were kicked out on these bases.
It's a very complex story, and certainly not one any of the Palinbots have the least grasp of, because they get most of their news from World Nut Daily.
No, she's no internet hacking virgin herself. And even if she were properly directed to do what she did, you would THINK when she became Governor she would have known enough not to run government business on a Yahoo account, which she most certainly did.
This was the same Yahoo account that was produced to MSNBC. . .a mixture of both personal and government. The kid just didn't stick around long enough to troll through the entire record.
I'm not defending what he did. . .but let's hope that fact that Palin was such a dummy to set up an easily accessed Yahoo account to use as personal and government business is not lost in the shuffle.
MicMac
I hear Kernell's attoney is the best. I would love to watch him with the Palins. I think the cards are stacked to favor Palin, but that does not mean much good can't come from this. I betcha Kernell's team is ready to go ahead with an appeal. They were not allow to access what they need to show their point, the truth. For now the Palin family can play a victim again and work the MSM to their advantage. So, what else is new?
ReplyDeleteWBIR in Knoxville has the best local coverage.
there is so much more to it
ReplyDelete-----------------------------
Really? MSNBC, NYT and WaPo have been on this case for a year and a half and nothing has come of it. Google Gertrude Stein quotes for your answer.
Did anyone else notice this?
ReplyDelete'An attorney for Palin, ... said ... that the former governor has been subpoenaed by prosecutors "and she will honor that commitment."'
Do you really have a choice as to whether you will "honor that commitment."? Maybe if you're Sarah. Anyone else would be subject to prosecution, I betcha.
The latest on the trial.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/apr/20/bristol-palin-added-witness-list-ex-ut-student-e-m/
....and answer non-prescreened questions, which is her worst nightmare....
ReplyDeleteDon't you think she will borrow the Vicks from Beck? It is always good to get all teary. You know this was the most painful experience this family has ever known. Todd will be a stoic head of a simple little family that is just like yours, while Bristol and Sarah hone their acting skills. How would you feel if, like the Johnstons, your pc or email was "hacked?"
Right on anonymous 11:02 in your response to anon 10:10: If Sarah had spent the requisite amount of time in her offices (especially in Juneau, but Anchorage too); if there had not been bumper stickers or buttons with "Where's Sarah?" then maybe her emails would have been handled appropriately and her husband would not have been governing the State!
ReplyDelete"People with the information that will bring her down, the time to act is NOW. No book contract, million dollar promise, or notoriety can possibly be worth more than saving your country."
ReplyDeleteCalling the case in Tn an email-hacking case is like calling Sarah Palin Governor. The word hacking is a propaganda ploy designed to smear a kid who made a mistake.
ReplyDeleteThe Defense Attorney is REALLY GOOD. If it is a king or queen court, royalty wins. It may be another 10 years until a sign of justice comes forth. In many ways this is a trial of a century because of the Defense Attorney performance, I hope everyone hears his words. The media will enhance celebrity performances. This is Bristol's academy potential, prep for The Secret Life of The American Teenager.
Handlers will have Sarah pumped and on meds. They tell her what they want her to hear and she is good to go. It is a crap shoot with her. She may easily step into something she can't shake off.
** the justice I want to see done. He did what he did. His punishment should be in accord with the damage done and should not be excessive with respect to other similar cases.
ReplyDeleteThe charges and prosecution to begin with should be in accord and not excessive against Kernell. He is obviously the scape goat. Malicious prosecution, it probably happens all the time in Tennessee.
The prosecution must have been sucked into some great theatrics if they are calling the drama queen and family to testify. Someone must demonstrate the damage that this caused. Todd and Sarah do not want to look too weak. Young single mother Bristol must have a story to tell. It would not be a good case without personal damages.
G - I just quickly looked through these comments. It seems to me it would be good for this young college kid's attorneys to be privy to Sarah's totally ridiculous leveraging of the law to her benefit up here in AK - ie. the Randy mess where she hacked his account; her misuse of email accounts, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing is the biggest case of the pot calling the kettle black - and I think this kid's attorney's shld know Sarah has dirt on her hands in these very same matters as well.
(It's just like when she made such a stink about Randy at the OGC - and that it was such a "compromised" environment she had to quit - even after he'd already resigned; but the truth is, a whole heck of a lot of people in the Valley could tell you that Sarah's kids didn't like her working the 40 hr week - plus the 10 hrs worth of commuting - since when she was mayor it was just for the photo ops around Wasilla that she'd show up - plus the couple mtgs a month. - then later it comes out that she was having her secretary at Wasilla City Hall do her Lt Gov campaign business - and when confronted with these facts - and this woman's account of the work she did for Sarah while on the City of Wasilla dime, Sarah just replied, "It's not the same thing.")
Victimhood is alive and well in the Sarah Palin Sphere.
This kid's attorney's deserve a crash course in the truth of who Sarah really is. They may be the only ones who ever get the opportunity to question her under oath.
Can you send some info their way to educate them. This kid and this nation deserve a shot at the truth.
So the Palin's will be called to testify? WTF does that mean?
ReplyDeleteA) They might actually honor a court supeanu and show? Right, like tht will happen. The Palin's have already demonstrated their respect for the law.
B) If by chance a Palin showed up in court (including a Palin in cuffs), who really expects that anyone of them understands the concept of providing honest factual truth? The truth to a Plain is whatever lines my pockets and covers my ass today at this moment in time.
Forgot one other question:
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the clothes the RNC bought for you during the 2008 election?
Questions I hope the defense will ask but won't because it is not relevant?
ReplyDeleteWho is Trig's mother?
Who is the Father of Track?
Did you have an affair with Brad Hanson?
What did you spend the money from ATF on?
Why haven't you given much to GOP candidates from SarahPac?
Sue--you mean the ones she's still being photographed wearing?!
ReplyDelete