Sarah Palin Compares Hacking Case to Watergate
Former Tennessee college student David Kernell was found guilty today of hacking into Sarah Palin's e-mail account during her 2008 campaign for the vice presidency.
In a Facebook note today, Palin said the incident raised concerns about "the integrity of our country's political elections." She compared the hacking case to one of the United States' most notorious political scandals: Watergate.
"America's elections depend upon fair competition. Violating the law, or simply invading someone's privacy for political gain, has long been repugnant to Americans' sense of fair play," Palin wrote. "As Watergate taught us, we rightfully reject illegally breaking into candidates' private communications for political intrigue in an attempt to derail an election."
As a college student, Kernell gained access to Palin's e-mail account by correctly providing her birth date and ZIP code and correctly answering that she met her husband in Wasilla, Alaska.
He was found guilty of obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, and unauthorized access to a computer, which carries a maximum one-year sentence.
