Federal Defense Attorney John Teakell

Vice Presidential hopeful, Governor Sarah Palin, was the victim of a recent hacker attack into her personal Yahoo email account where the emails were posted on a website for all to see. According to federal officials, the attack was carried out by David Christopher Kernell, who is a University of Tennessee economics major and also the son of Tennessee Representative Mike Kernell. Kernell was indicted on October 8, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee for Unlawful access to stored communications in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2701. The statute reads in pertinent part:

“anyone who…intentionally accesses without authorization … an electronic communication service …and thereby obtains, alters, or prevents authorized access to a wire or electronic communication while it is in electronic storage in such system shall be punished…”

A Childish Prank or a Malicious Attack?

The FBI tracked down Kernell after he posted screenshots to the website Wikileaks, which supposedly provides anonymity to those who post documents wishing to reveal unethical behavior of government officials. According to news reports, Kernell left behind a trail by using a proxy service to access Palin’s account and then post the images. After discovering Palin’s information online, the FBI contacted the owner of the proxy service, Gabriel Ramuglia, who provided the information that allowed them to track down Kernell. FBI agents later searched an apartment linked to Kernell and seized computer equipment that they believe was used in the hacking attack.

Kernell Surrenders to Authorities

After receiving news of the indictment Kernell turned himself into federal authorities. He then appeared for a detention hearing before United States Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley. Kernell was granted bond and as part of the conditions of his release Judge Shirley imposed the following restrictions on Kernell:

• A ban on owning a computer.
• Restriction of Internet use to e-mail and college coursework only.
• No contact with Gov. Palin or her family
• No travel outside eastern Tennessee without approval from a probation officer.

Trial is set for Dec. 16. If convicted of the offense Kernell faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a three-year term of supervised release.

A man that is responsible for granting offenders parole, may soon find himself behind bars. Chris Ortloff, a New York State parole board commissioner, was arrested on October 13, 2008, for allegedly arranging to have sex with two girls “he believed to be 11 and 12 year old minors,” according to the criminal complaint.

Ironically, Ortloff once pushed for the toughening of Megan’s Law, the law that created the New York’s sex offender registry. “Our government” Ortloff told the Plattsburgh Press-Republican in an interview in 2006, “must do more to keep dangerous, sexually violent predators away from children and women.”

Ongoing Investigation

According to federal prosecutors, Ortloff had been communicating with an undercover cop over the internet almost daily since June, believing the cop to be a parent of the girls. After months of online conversations with investigators posing as his would-be victims, Ortloff arranged to meet what he believed to be the two minors at an upstate New York hotel. After he showed up at the hotel with condoms, lubricants, sex toys and a camera police stormed the room and placed Ortloff under arrest.

Defenses Attorneys Complain of Entrapment

Ortloff’s attorney Andrew Safranko, told news reporters that he still needed to review the case but believes that a possible defense could be that his client did not know the “girls” were underage. He also suggested that this could lead to an entrapment defense pointing to comments made by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Spina who said, “This was an undercover operation, there were no real minors.”

United States Magistrate Judge Randolph Treece ordered Ortloff detained while the government gathers evidence that it will present in a bail hearing later this week. If convicted, Ortloff faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to a maximum of life in prison.

Political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who is best known for assisting Barack Obama in launching his political career, has reportedly began cooperating with federal prosecutors concerning knowledge he has involving corruption in Illinois. Rezko had been accused of extorting millions of dollars by bribing officials in hopes of receiving favorable state contracts in return. He was found guilty in June on 16 of 24 counts that included federal fraud, attempted bribery and money laundering charges. Rezko was due to be sentenced in September but both parties requested that his sentencing be postponed so that the government could evaluate the extent of his cooperation.

Rezko Cooperates in hope of a Government Motion for Substantial Assistance
Rezko’s attorneys are hoping that the information he provided will persuade the federal government to file a motion to reduce his sentence for substantial assistance to authorities. Formally known as a §5K1 motion, the court can only reduce Rezko’s sentence if the government decides that the information Rezko provides is sufficient to justify the threshold of “substantial assistance” and files the motion before sentencing. A reading of the guideline is very straightforward: Upon motion of the government stating that the defendant has provided substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense, the court may depart from the guidelines.

No Indication Rezko has mentioned Obama in anyway Rezko, who has been considered a friend of Obama, has ties that included offering him a job after he graduated from law school, funding his political campaigns and purchasing a property next to Obama’s home. But sources close to the case suggest that based on the testimony at Rezko’s trial, there is no indication that Obama has been a topic of the information, even though it has been reported that Rezko has said prosecutors are pressing him for information about Obama.

It is believed that Governor Rod Blagojevich is considered the most likely subject of the cooperation talks. Blagojevich’s administration is already under a federal investigation over how it handed out jobs and money with advice from Rezko. “I think this strikes fear into the Blagojevich administration and the Statehouse Democrats but not into the Obama campaign,” says state Senator Kirk Dillard, R-Westmont. So it is very doubtful that Senator Obama will be implicated by Rezko in any way.