Lawmaker's son, UT student David Kernell, indicted in Palin e-mail hacking
David Kernell to be arraigned this morning before U.S. magistrate judge
News Sentinel staff
Originally published 09:02 a.m., October 8, 2008
Updated 10:50 a.m., October 8, 2008
Emily Spence
David Kernell a University of Tennessee student was indicted of hacking into Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s e-mail account.
Related documents
Indictment of David Kernell
Dept. of Justice release on indictment of David Kernell
Associated Press
David C. Kernell, 20, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Knoxville for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of Palin, the governor of Alaska and Sen. John McCain's running mate, according to U.S. Attorney James R. Dedrick.
Dedrick said Kernell, the son of state Rep. Mike Kernell, D-Memphis, turned himself in to federal authorities today for arrest.
He is to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley.
The single-count indictment, returned Tuesday and unsealed today, alleges that on approximately Sept. 16, 2008, Kernell, obtained unauthorized access to Palin's personal e-mail account by allegedly resetting the account password.
According to the indictment, after answering a series of security questions that allowed him to reset the password and gain access to the e-mail account, Kernell allegedly read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information.
According to the indictment, Kernell posted screenshots of the e-mail and other personal information to a public Web site. Kernell also allegedly posted the new e-mail account password, thus providing access to the account by others.
If convicted, Kernell faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a three-year term of supervised release. A trial date has not been set.
A federal grand jury in Chattanooga ended a Sept. 23 session without an indictment after investigators last month searched Kernell's apartment in Knoxville.
Three students accompanied by Maryville attorney Phil Reed met with the Chattanooga grand jury last month.
Kernell's attorney, Wade Davies of Knoxville, could not be reached for comment this morning.
More details as they develop online and in Thursday's News Sentinel.
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