David Kernell Convicted for Hacking Sarah Palin's eMail

Filed in archive News on April 30, 2010

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Wired is among a number of sources reporting that 22-year-old David Kernell has been convicted in Knoxville, Tennessee, of obstruction of justice and misdemeanor computer intrusion. Kernell hacked into a email account that belonged to Sarah Palin back in 2008.

Kernell was acquitted on a charge of wire fraud. His jury deadlocked on the charge of identity theft.

Most people who hack an email account in most of the US can reasonably expect to be charged with a couple of misdemeanors (if they're charged at all) and fussed at a lot. Kernell is not most people. He made the mistake of hacking into the web-based email account of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during campaign season, and he did it in one of the nation's more Republican-leaning states.

Kernell is free on bond at the moment and a sentencing date has not been set. If he'd been convicted on all charges he could have received more than 50 years in prison.

Palin posted a Facebook update applauding the verdict and compared Kernell's actions to Wategate.