Ride the Lightning

GOVERNOR PALIN’S E-MAIL HACKED: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT FOR BOTH SIDES?

September 18, 2008

Hardly new, hacking into someone’s e-mail. But when it is a Vice Presidential candidate, it attracts attention. First and foremost, this action was clearly illegal and cannot be condoned. A group called “Anonymous” claimed responsibility for the hack, and the computer forensics experts from the government are no doubt busy hunting the group down.

So yes, it is a despicable way to get information and I hope the authorities do find them and hold them accountable. I’ve seen the screenshots of the leaked Yahoo! Inbox and e-mails and it appears to me very likely that the Anonymous group had enough information about Palin that they were able to trick Yahoo! into resetting the account password, giving them access to the account. One of the subject lines from her Inbox is “Your Yahoo! password was changed.”

So often in our society, the most interesting information comes to light through unsavory sources and means. No one seems to deny that Governor Palin did indeed have two personal Yahoo accounts and (shocker) it appears that she was conducting government business on these personal accounts. For the blissfully naïve, this is often done to avoid leaving an archival government record, as mandated by law. When investigations and FOIA requests come, the government dutifully produces the government records – leaving the personal e-mails untouched.

As my mom would say, two wrongs don’t make a right, but it certainly appears that Governor Palin chose selectively when she turned over e-mails in response to a June public records request. Combined with her string of misrepresentations about the bridge to nowhere (she did support it, then pulled her support when Congress pulled its support but she kept the money for other projects), her supposed visits to Iraq and Ireland (didn’t set foot in Iraq and her plane refueled in Ireland), her overstated claims about her oversight of Alaska’s provision of energy resources (first it was energy and then she changed it to oil, but her numbers (20%) were still wrong (7.5% is the correct number) and her “Troopergate” shenanigans and about-faces (she is actually asking to terminate a legislative probe she originally asked for and put it in the hands of the state personnel board, which she controls), the Governor is working overtime on looking deceptive.

For both the Anonymous group and the Governor, it might be wise to remember the old adage that “the truth will find a way.”

Hat tip to Dan Fuller for finding those screen shots!

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