Some actual consequences for the doxxing of senators
Almost a year ago, we witnessed the weeks-long drama of hearings to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. While progressive outrage theater transpired on the streets of DC and Democrats in the chamber made fools out of themselves, a very serious crime unfolded behind the scenes.
A Democrat aide named Jackson Cosko, who was angry about Kavanaugh, stole private information about Republican senators and made it public. Now he is going to jail.
The sentence is four years.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan said the sentence for Jackson Cosko, 27, was needed to send a signal that criminal harassment driven by political motives would be punished severely in an era marked by extreme political polarization…
In April, Cosko pleaded guilty to five felonies, admitting that after being fired last year from his work as a systems administrator on Hassan’s staff, he repeatedly used a colleague’s key to enter the office, install keylogging equipment that stole work and personal email passwords, and downloaded a massive trove of data from Senate systems.
Cosko also acknowledged that after growing angry about the GOP’s handling of the Supreme Court nomination, he released home addresses and phone numbers of Sens. Lindsry Graham, Orrin Hatch, and Mike Lee on Wikipedia. After initial press coverage of that doxing, Cosko released information about Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul.
I wonder—if someone from the MSM had broken into the systems and published the information, would there have been any repercussions?
I am going to assume that this decision will be appealed. The judge, by the way, was a Reagan appointee from 1982. That’s 37 years ago, which illustrates the long reach and influence of judicial appointments.
The problem is that this was just some low level punk not, say, one of the Awan brothers.
I’m afraid that any prosecutions and jail time for people involved in the whole range of illegal anti-Trump attacks, and Democrat scandals are going to be targeted against a few low level chumps and fall guys, but not against any major players.
Largely agreed. Big shots in the Democratic Party do not get prosecuted unless they do something fairly crude – like have a chest freezer full of bribe money in their basement.
Still progress is progress.
I take this, the Oberlin damages, the ongoing reversals of Title IX star chamber verdicts against young men, the upcoming Covington lawsuits, the campus freedom of speech efforts and AG William Barr’s investigation of the Mueller investigators as a likely tipping point.
Things had turn around sometime and it looks like that time has come. Fingers crossed.
He should also be restricted from profiting off of his crimes. Four years is not a long time, particularly for someone so young. When he gets out, he will likely be hailed as a #Resist hero, showered with book deals and speaking engagements. Sure, he’ll be a felon but, once again, that will be be a badge of honor in certain circles.
I think Neo has been invaded by the Italicans.
Ditto that.
At least it isn’t the bold tyrannic ALL CAPS!
I don’t get this. Since the Pentagon Papers, the distinction has been breaking / leaking = crime but disseminating not so much. I can’t recall an instance where the MSM did the actual hacking, but that only makes the case that there is no doubt they’d be prosecuted…that’s why there are no examples.
So, for example, Putin committed a crime by breaking into the DNC servers…but in order to convict Julian Assange you have to tie him to actual hacking part of the conspiracy.
Ditto for Roger Stone and Trump Campaign. Meuller could tie them to the latter, but that might not be enough to produce a conviction, even if they knew about the former.
Putin committed a crime by breaking into the DNC servers…
In your imagination.