back to article Sarah Palin to testify in email hack trial

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will testify in person against the college student accused of breaching her Yahoo mail account and leaking some of its contents online, according to published reports. Palin’s lawyer, Thomas V Van Flein, told multiple news outlets that the former Alaska governor will be …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Does anyone know...

    what she's likely to testify about?

    1. smudge
      Troll

      Not even she knows that!

      No further text necessary.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Alert

      Ignorance VS stupidity

      As one of the few people on our planet who's ignorance is exceeded by her stupidity her testimony should be quite entertaining, I hope it's open to the press.

  2. jake Silver badge

    The mind boggles.

    How much money is going to be spent by the court system proving exactly how ignorant Sarah is? And she is actually not only willing, but her husband is volunteering, to help said system demonstrate how ignorant she is? And the Republicans actually wanted her to be Veep? And she's contemplating running for President? And various Republicans think this is a good idea?

    I'm stupefied ... This country is going to hell in a hand basket ...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      ...going to hell in a hand basket.

      Interesting use of the past tense...

      :0)

  3. JohnG

    Skirted laws = Broken laws

    "The admission supports claims she may have skirted state laws requiring official business to be carried out using email accounts maintained by the government."

    For "skirted" read "broken".

    Government business is supposed to be carried out using official means of communication in order to provide traceability. Palin has claimed that her private email accounts should not be subject to freedom of information claims but also admits using them for government business - as has been demonstrated by the "hack".

    1. The BigYin

      Agreed

      Why isn't she in the dock?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I LIKE BIG TITLES

        They don't want to sink a thousand ships.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This isn't going to backfire at all

    when it emerges that her password was "hacked" either by being ridiculously easy to guess or by the use of a simple piece of social engineering. Oh no.

    1. Anonymous John

      Comments don't need titles!

      Wasn't it a matter of the answers to her security questions being in the public domain?

  5. Allan George Dyer
    Paris Hilton

    most disruptive and discouraging?

    So loosing wasn't discouraging?

    Is this the Sarah Palin icon?

  6. sandman

    How droll

    I'm sorry, I can't take Sarah Palin seriously and can't quite get my head around the fact that many Americans apparently do. Perhaps it's because she shares a name with an ex-member of Monty Python and her campaign was about as surreal as one of their better shows. The "hacking" event was just the icing on the cake.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Au contraire, there was never a Python called Sarah

      although I believe Graham Chapman occasionally went by the name Susan

    2. The Fuzzy Wotnot
      FAIL

      All BS isn't it?!

      Something in the "Typical Country Girl/Soccer Mom Made Good" image that has been carefully crafted for her, that obviously appeals to the average voter.

      Lots of politicians have cottoned on to the appeal-to-the masses-by-pretending-to-be-an-average-Joe, such as our Eton educated Dave Cameron, the Hoodie's mate!

  7. Bilgepipe
    FAIL

    Yeah....

    Yeah, 'cause she really had a chance of winning if it hadn't been for those darn kids.

  8. Tom Samplonius
    Happy

    Hands big enough?

    There isn't a teleprompter in court, so hopefully she has a enough room on her hands for all of her testimony. She can wash off "Lift American Spirits" to make room, as that goal was accomplished :)

  9. Gordon is not a Moron
    Grenade

    It's almost a title

    Anyone know the political leanings of the Tennessee prosecutor? Is a Republican trying to get more air time for the GOP's next presidential candidate or a Democrat giving her another chance to look dumb?

    Oh silly me of course there's no polotics in the US Judical system

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    We all know Palin is a genius

    "Palin, who insisted the Russians were "next-door neighbors" of her state..."

    When we all know it's the Canadians and Siberians that are neighbours of her state - the Russian's live half a continent away at the European end of their country!

    Maybe she should ask for geography lessons from her namesake, Michael Palin.

    1. Blake St. Claire
      Boffin

      Geography lessons for AC@11:13 I think.

      Maybe you ought to look at a map of the Russian Federation, a.k.a. Russia.

      E.g. this one http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/rularge.htm

      I'll go out on a limb and claim that one of Alaska's two neighbors is, in fact, Russia. Not just to the Asian part of Russia to the west, but don't forget to the north as well.

      Which is not to say that SP isn't a complete and utter f*ckwit. I want to say that if she ever wins the White House, I'm leaving, but you know what, the rest of the world is just as f*cked up as here, so I'm probably stuck here.

    2. LPF

      @Anonymous Coward = We all know Palin is a genius

      "Historically, Siberia was defined as the whole part of Russia to the east of Ural Mountains, " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia

      well she's smarter than you , so there is some hope ;)

  11. Paul Hates Handles
    Grenade

    /facepalm

    She'll say God told her he did it, and God can't be wrong so he did it. Case closed.

  12. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

    But

    If, as seems to be the case, this twentysomething Democratic Party member hacked into Governor Palin's personal Yahoo! account to examine and expose her private e-mails sent and/or received, that's presumed to be wrong. Never mind if it was easy to do and never mind if you deplore Sarah Palin. If there's a public interest defence then he can try to make that defence, but for one of her bitter political enemies it will be difficult to establish an altruistic motive. It's also doubtful that his couputer was hacked and then used without his knowledge to do the dirty work - even though at the time the U.S. national security apparatus was o!under Republican control (the way it likes) and probably was used to attack the Democrats in the same way.

    Look. It's hacking of personal computer systems. WE ARE AGAINST IT.

    1. ElReg!comments!Pierre

      Surely there was no hacking...

      ... the exposed data show state administration material on a Yahoo! Mail account, which is prohibited and which existence S. Palin vehemently denied. So surely there was no hacking at all (as the account never existed in the first place) and the whole "exposed" data is just a clever construction?

      Or did I miss something?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Plan.

    So she's probably going to be humiliated in court. In the next day she will say to whoever wants to hear her (a lot of people, apparently) that "Obama wants democrats to read your e-mail and if you try to defend yourself they will laugh at you -- vote for me so I can fix what's wrong with this country!".

  14. disgruntled yank

    Well

    Teddy Roosevelt, brought back from the dead, could not have revived the Republican fortunes in 2008. The Democratic nominee was a lock from the time the housing bubble deflated and the market sank. To be sure, Palin could have cost the Republican Party the seats of a few congressmen in swing districts, mostly fiscally conservative, socially liberal suburban ones.

    Pretty clearly SP is now a sideshow. She may not remember the great electoral catastrophes of times past--1932, 1936, 1972--but the powers in the Republican party will, and will have no wish to repeat them.

    Easy passwords: I've seen cars in my neighborhoods rooted through when left unlocked. I'm sure that the police would think me careless, but still charge the thief if they caught him.

    @sandman: I'm sure the Joneses are comforted by your methods of evaluation.

  15. Fractured Cell
    Pint

    If Anything...

    At least it managed to shut that smarmy [expleteive deleted] up for a while.

    She deserves everything she gets.

    <PalinVoice=on>

    I'm so awesome, because im an average american, and im a soccer mum, etc...

    <PalinVoice=off>

    AAAARGH! NOBODY CARES!

    </rant>

    On the other side, sloppy work by the so called 'Hacker'...

    Need beer to get my brain functioning again

  16. LPF
    Paris Hilton

    Guess what people

    It doesnt matter if you dont like her or her politics. just becuase it was easy to break into her

    account does not make it less of a crime.

    I mean using that kind of stupid thinking its not a much of a crime to rape and kill a

    pensioner because she is unable to defend herself! :S

    Hopefully when the kid who did this is getting made the bride of some 300lbs dude called bubba in the clink , he will think twice before hacking into someones email account!

    as for palin , my god seriously I would put cold hard cash down to say that half of you have

    fantasies involving her, being very strict with you! get over it people!!

    Paris becuase she can spot repressed sexual agression when she see's it!

    1. Funky Dennis
      Thumb Up

      Bravo!

      Well done for condemning rape and murder and then wishing rape on the accused! Are you the Jon Venables commenter from the Daily Mail the other day?

    2. Blake St. Claire
      Thumb Down

      The other crime

      was her using her Yahoo! email for government business.

      Was that a lesser crime? When will she be prosecuted for that?

      I'm guessing she has an Alaska State Trooper uniform hat in the rear window of her car too. And speeds.

    3. jake Silver badge

      Palin? Strict?

      That plastic idiot couldn't even get strict with her own pregnant 17 year old daughter!

  17. Chris Hatfield

    He should get a medal!

    It's incredible that Sarah Palin was using Yahoo mail to conduct Govt Business!!

    What this guy did was in the public interest. He is a hero.

  18. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

    Siberia is Russia

    isn't it?

  19. Colin_L
    Megaphone

    agreed with Robert Carnegie and LPF

    You can't allow your political or personal opinions of the injured party to influence your opinion of whether or not the accused is guilty of a crime.

    Hacking, even through social means, is clearly illegal.

    This person should be tried and if convicted should face some sort of penalty. I have no personal suggestion as to what is appropriate. But you can't sweep this whole matter under the rug, that's absurd.

    1. ElReg!comments!Pierre

      There was no account, ergo ro hack. Free him.

      According to S. Palin this state-business Yahoo! account did not exist. To prove the hack you'd have to prove that the account existed AND that the data exposed belonged to that account. So either they are both criminals (and S. Palin a liar, too, but thatś hardly news), or they are both innocent. There is no middle ground here. By testifying there she will either lose her job (and face other appropriate penalties) or make him a free man. If the American judiciary not a total farce, that is.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This could be awesome

    Sarah Palin under oath being asked to explain her knowledge of security and IT.

    Is this going to be televised?

    If not, can we have it dramatised with Britain's newly-discovered not-terribly-bright, badly briefed, screeching, right wing, nutcase - Carol Vorderman in the lead role?

  21. BillG
    Unhappy

    WHY did it take two years?

    WHY has this taken two years?

    WHY is this being treated differently?

    Shouldn't there be no difference in prosecution, whether this is a well-known politician or your next-door neighbor?

    WHY HAS THIS TAKEN TWO YEARS???

  22. ian 22
    Big Brother

    Deplorable

    Hacking is crime, and I hope the lad gets whats coming to him - a medal!

    Politicos need to know that we are watching....

  23. USA IT, where it all started

    Officer! He stole my stolen goods!!!

    We had a case over here where a drug dealer called the police to report that another drug dealer had stolen his weed. The police promptly arrested both criminals then had a good laugh. Imagine the stupidity of a criminal reporting criminal on criminal crime. Only the stupidest criminal in the world doesn't know how that's going to end.

    Enter Sarah Palin. While breaking the law that expressly told her government business should be transacted on government email accounts, she has the audacity to complain when someone guesses her trivial password. The ironic thing is, this case will now enter into the public record proof of her crime.

    Reporting and prosecuting this will cost her Far more than if she had not pressed charges. But, then again, no one has ever accused SP of being the smartest person.

  24. USA IT, where it all started

    Seeing Russia from your backyard

    Just for the record, Juneau Alaska (the capital) is further from Russia than London is from Russia (use the ruler on Google Earth). Can you guys see Russia from your backyards?

    And Wasilia (SP's hometown) is farther from Russia than London is from Milan.

  25. Lars Silver badge
    Pint

    Never in US history

    I believe that there has been anything as uneducated as Palin as a vice president candidate.

    Good luck for the country I think and hope.

  26. Jorge Lopez
    WTF?

    Wow - the ignorants yap

    What I don't understand is how ignorant some of the comments are on here. Here we have a family member of a rank and file member of the democratic party being the fall guy to something he was clearly put up to do by his mates in the party.

    This may not be watergate but it sure as heck screams felony imprisonment. This kind of tactic should not be tolerated from any political party. Do we really want to go down this path to excuse these actions just because of a personal political view against Palin?

  27. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

    I think the alleged kid didn't need encouragement.

    ...except that the rivalry between the big U.S. political parties really is intense. Their system encourages all voters in many states to register their loyalty to party well in advance and stick with it, and active members, at least those with less sophistication, tend to regard the other party as enemies of the state (as in nation).

    But the party as a whole is smart enough to make something like this happen without having a trail lead back to them. Here's a suggestion: the Democrats would launch a web site of fake Sarah Palin or other leading Republican e-mails written for comic effect; some hacker out there would be curious enough just to be inspired to crack Sarah Palin's real mailbox and join in the fun. Same outcome, less direct culpability. But they didn't devise or execute such a plan in time to stop one of their own embarrassing them.

    Unless the kid doesn't like his folks and he embarrassed them deliberately?

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