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Former Democratic aide headed to prison for 'doxing' five Republican senators

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/4320070854

June 20, 2019, 03:24 PM
ZSMICHAEL
Former Democratic aide headed to prison for 'doxing' five Republican senators
Glad to see this.

A former aide to two Democratic members of Congress will receive a sentence of four years in prison for data theft after pleading guilty to five felony charges linked to 'doxing' — or releasing personal information such as home addresses — five Republican senators.

Jackson Cosko was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Thomas Hogan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Cosko was arrested in October 2018 for breaking into the office of his former employer, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and stealing private data before using it to 'dox' several Republican senators by posting their personal contact information on Wikipedia.

Even after his arrest, Cosko, a supporter of 2020 presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, continued to mine data through keystroke-logging devices he had installed on several computers in the Senate offices. The devices were only discovered after Cosko informed authorities of their existence.



The sentencing memorandum filed by the prosecutor described the bulk of Cosko's charges, including "a months-long series of burglaries and sophisticated data theft offenses directed at the office of" Hassan and "maliciously releasing" personal information of Senators Lindsay Graham, Orrin Hatch, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Mitch McConnell.

He also obstructed justice by attempting "to silence a witness by threatening to release the private health information of a Senator’s children, because he corrupted another person and persuaded her to attempt to 'wipe down' the scene of his burglaries," and attempting to destroy evidence in his own apartment.

The memo describe Cosko's crimes as reflecting "a deliberate malice and self-righteous entitlement."

His data theft has been described as the largest in Senate history. Prosecutors said Cosko's crimes were motivated by his fury at being fired by Hassan and his political anger at Republicans. They said that he "wanted to punish people who disagreed with his politics."

Cosko, a self-proclaimed supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., claimed to be angry at Senate Republicans over their actions during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh. His defense claimed that their client was struggling with alcohol and drug dependence.

Prosecutors asked for 57 months in prison for Cosko, close to the maximum allowable sentence for his crimes, writing, "The government believes that a significant sentence would help to make clear that difference of political opinion do not entitle people to engage in politically motivated, criminal attacks threatening elected officials with whom he disagrees, and would thereby encourage respect for the law, and deter future criminal conduct."

LINK: https://www.washingtonexaminer...-republican-senators
June 20, 2019, 03:27 PM
ZSMICHAEL
Just noticed JALLEN old thread. Lock if duplicate.
June 20, 2019, 03:57 PM
OKCGene
Thats odd. The link you posted is dated today, June 20, 2019.
June 20, 2019, 04:01 PM
Orguss
But JALLEN's thread is the original discussion, which someone updated with the article ZSMICHAEL posted.

BTW, OP, just delete your original post next time. That'll remove the thread. (You can't do it now that the thread has received replies, though.)



"I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes"
June 20, 2019, 04:03 PM
ZSMICHAEL
quote:
posted June 20, 2019 04:01 PM Hide Post
But JALLEN's thread is the original discussion, in which someone posted the article ZSMICHAEL posted.

BTW, OP, just delete your original post next time. That'll remove the thread. (You can't do it now that the thread has received replies, though.)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
OK thanks.
June 20, 2019, 04:50 PM
mbinky
I did read somewhere today that they charged an accomplice. Woman, I think.
June 21, 2019, 05:49 AM
Sig2340
Four years in federal prison? Five felony counts?

There's a college education pissed away. He will face untold problems in his life as entire career fields are off limits to felons. Like that twit Reality Winner who leaked a report on Russian election meddling, I doubt the act was worth penalty,





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018