From The Register:
A witness who testified against the man accused of breaching Sarah Palin's Yahoo! Mail account has criticized federal prosecutors for distorting the facts in an attempt to score legal points.
Gabriel Ramuglia said the episode left him so disenchanted that he's changing the logging policy for Ctunnel.com, the anonymity proxy used to access Palin's Yahoo account while she was running for vice president in 2008. Before, he collected the IP address of each user along with the time and address of each web visit and stored it for seven days. Now, he logs the minimum required by law.
Ramuglia said he's taking the step because he believes prosecutors exaggerated entries in the log information when presenting it to the jury in the case. On several occasions, he said assistant US attorneys told him privately they wanted to "show as much commerce as possible" by emphasizing connections his proxy made to ad servers, even though his site almost always filters out their content.
Based on the evidence in Ctunnel logs, Ramuglia said, he believes Kernell "should have got in some trouble." But he went on to say that he believes prosecutors are attempting to win enhancements to Kernell's potential sentence by ginning up findings that the breach disrupted interstate commerce.
"My objection is that they seem to be more interested in getting a maximum sentence than with prosecuting what actually happened," Ramuglia, 26, told The Register on Tuesday. "They really don't need to try to get 50 years on this by drumming up all these other irrelevant charges."
You know when even he prosecution's own witness says that evidence is being manipulated you know that there is definitely something very, very wrong.
I certainly hope that Kernell's attorney Wade Davies is paying close attention to all of the information that is circuiting out on the blogoshpere. It jut may prove useful later.
For a woman whose own children faced some pretty stupid behavior, you would think that she would be a little more compassionate to this young dope who admittedly did a stupid thing.
ReplyDeleteThis kid should not go unpunished but facing a possible 50 yr sentence for this act is excessive. Let him serve a few months, be put on an extended probation, and everybody move on.
But to continue treating this transgression as so horrendous simply because it involved Rev. Sarah is as criminal an act as any he perpetrated. She could show her compassionate side by asking nothing more from the court than this.
It is difficult to take sides in this case since the defendent appears as arrogant as the victim but his can be chalked up to his age.
No matter what happens (and I hope it is a VERY light sentence) - I hope there is something we can do to help this young man. Yes he did something wrong and there should be appropriate consquences (emphasis on APPROPRIATE!) - not 50 yrs in jail
ReplyDeleteIF the sentencing ends up being "unfair" - perhaps a coordinator effort could be made to do something - donate to finance an appeal; send care packages; ask for a presidential pardon (not sure how to go about asking for one but someone must know - though most likely it wouldn't be done in the first term, but perhaps if it came to that much time perhaps at the end of Obama's second term [I am holding on to the belief that he will BE re-elected] so that there wouldn't be as much political fall-out from it.
Hoping for the best and that all works out with a just and fair decision.
I wonder if the prosecutor has a history of trumped up charges and exaggeration or if he was going for big publicity in this case. I haven't seen anything written about him or his conviction rate.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be somethin' if they end up with a hung jury because they couldn't get consensus that the felony charge fit the 'crime'?
If I were this kid's attorney, I would have my appeal brief in place no matter what the verdict is, if the felony conviction stands instead of reducing it (them) to a misdemeanor.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me this witness's account bolsters whatever appeal case he's preparing.
I wonder if that group of law students that take on some high profile cases could help here with a potential appeal, because I believe they are ginning up to get him the full 50 year sentence for daring to guess $aint $arahS email PW...
ReplyDelete...isn't it kind of weird the last few informative articles have come from overseas publications...? Aren't any US media outlets covering this (besides those Tennessee...)
ReplyDeleteVan Flea has a note on Sarah's Facebook page. blech.
ReplyDeleteThere is not a lot of case law to do with internet cases yet.I think they are using this case and Mrs Paylin to create some hardcore verdicts to use in the future against real criminals,while using it to raise their own profile.
ReplyDeleteI love it when people say stuff without any backing. Read the US Federal Guidelines for sentencing and you will see that 50 years is NOT possible. This is a first time offender, falling into category 1, lowest sentencing no prior criminal activity. His offense falls into the 18-42 month sentence area. I don't see how they could get any more with or without a trial. They, unlike state courts, are bound by statue to time and monetary sentencing. NOT public opinion.
ReplyDeletemommom..I have heard talk that it could take many years for this to go through courts. DoJ picked a weird case to make future hardcore verdicts. They are still violating someones rights to use their case to catch future real criminals. It is malicious. David Kernell is not to be a DoJ guinea pig.
ReplyDeleteI guess this shows why people who know stuff about Palin are having a hard time 'fessing up. I'm not a Bible-thumper, but a popular scripture is "you reap what you sow" or from the metaphysical viewpoint it's "cause and effect" or "karma"... This stuff is true, it just doesn't have a timeline, so we must perservere and support those who are working at chiseling away at Palin's credibility (lack of). And give President Obama a lot of love.
ReplyDeleteVan Flea has a note on her FB page? Add another 25K to the bill. He found his meal ticket.
ReplyDeleteYou are incorrect. Here is a calculator to guess how much time he will serve, it's way more than the two years max you suggest.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sentencing.us/
I wonder if the prosecutor has political ambitions, and, if so, which party he would run under.
ReplyDeleteAs to sentencing, even 18 to 24 months is too long considering the crime. He did not steal her identity or personal information and spread it around or profit from it, did he?
Community service and probation should suffice. After all, he has been humiliated worldwide by his actions and the trial. His prior clean record, his age, and the manner in which he got into the account should all call for moderation.
It is totally disgusting that Sister Sarah refuses to ask for mercy in this case. Perhaps if he is convicted, she may make a big deal of asking for a lighter sentence to play up her image. If she's smarter than I give her credit for, she will do that because otherwise, her rep as a Christian is toast (as if it weren't already).
"Yes he did something wrong"
ReplyDeleteThe jury will decide whether he did something wrong or not. Personally I don't think what he did amounts to anything worse than finding someone's diary on a table and deciding to share it with friends. Yeah, maybe it's in bad taste or tacky, but criminal? I don't believe what he did amounted to the level of a crime.
Anon at 9:40.
ReplyDeleteYou don't think they'll try for the max of a category 1 on each offense and make them consecutive? That would be 42 months multiplied by how many counts?
ginning up findings + Sarah Palin
ReplyDeleteIs anyone suprised?
This case may have more to do with the case of the guy who hacked into Obama's Twitter account, and an appearance of fairness in cases like this.
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/ycq68y5
This would be bad enough if Sarah Palin's own children didn't have to be bailed out for "bad behavior"; Willow's drunken spree alone makes my blood boil. Not at Willow, after all she is a teenager and they do incredibly stupid things. But the fact that Sarah and Toad came back from Hawaii and strong armed to get her a get out of jail free card makes them the "worse parents in the world" to use a KO quote. I also, too hope this kid's attorney is filing an appeal, which I feel confident he is. After all, that is what our legal system is all about. This woman is a pox on the entire world.
ReplyDeleteThe defense has grounds for appeal if the alleged damage is relevant.
ReplyDeleteThe story on Washington Post has turned from the perjury story to "Babygate" and by the comments the people are starting to wonder about those Prego pics of Sarah
ReplyDeletettp://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/04/i_sarah_palin_defender.html#comments
Shouldn't Sister Sarah" the oil expert" be down there giving her expert opinion on stopping that oil spill in the gulf.
ReplyDeleteDavid Kernell's jury still cannot come up with a verdict 4 second day in row, being released. @hsumerford is covering the case #palintrial 34 minutes ago from web
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/hanamkim
No verdict today in hacking trial:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wate.com/global/story.asp?s=12377953
Excuse me, but that made my blood run cold. A little three second clip over at Andrew Halcro's new site -- I think I came across it when looking up his new business's "contact" info.
ReplyDeleteShe is so rude.
The jury deliberated another whole day? Also - interesting column over at Esquire ab Sarah not running for pres in 2012
ReplyDeleteCtunnel.com, the anonymity proxy
ReplyDeleteGeesh, this guy is selling anonymity but was keeping massive records. Bet his customers are THRILLED to hear about his record keeping.
Maybe the college kid should sue the proxy site.
If being a chronic liar was a crime Caribou Barbie would get 50 yrs.
ReplyDeleteI say that is good for Kernell that the jury is deliberating for this long. That Wapo guy has opened up the would Palin lie, can she be trusted questions. It is not only did she commit perjury or have Bristol tell a lie, is there anything about her we can trust?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will ask about the pictures of all her babies with different ears that they call Trig.
Amen to Anonymous 2:06. If she really believes what her faith says, she may be doing a lot longer than that though not in a human jail.
ReplyDeleteMakes me wish I were a believer if that would make it come true - nah, even as a non-believer, I think mercy should be shown even to hard-hearted Ms. Palin.
I am a retired Computer Forensics Examiner. This type of serious privacy breach should get this young man a few years in prison. This event is a fellony and will ruin his life. He will never obtain a security clearance and will be a mandatory entry on any job application. While many think it is no big deal, this will be one of the high visibility cases that may set precedence
ReplyDeleteI worked in criminal investigations for the PFD. Every infraction does not rise to the level of a "felony". Didn't Sarah herself somehow inform herself and her curiosity regarding Randy Reudrich's computer activities complete with time and date stamps? How'd she get that information? Please let us know. Thanks. That information Sarah developed somehow helped get her elected. A felony? Indeed.
ReplyDeleteSome are interested in politics and others are intersted in justice. David Kernell was charged with 4 fellony counts of identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud and obstruction of justice. He has admitted to hacking the email site and and posting Ms. Palin's daughter's cell phone to the Internet. Kernell's attorney elected to not have him testify. Although he is innocent until proven guilty, I think things do not look good for him and he will be charged with all or part of the allegations. If others think ex govenor Palin has commited a crime then they sould take appropraite action; otherwise it is conjecture
ReplyDelete