Home / US Presidential Election 2008 Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Palin's email account hacked, contents leaked
Adjust font size:

Hackers broke into the Yahoo! email account that US Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin used for official business as Alaska's governor, revealing as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate. 

"This is a shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these emails will destroy them," the McCain campaign said in a statement.

The Secret Service contacted The Associated Press on Wednesday and asked for copies of the leaked emails, which circulated widely on the Internet.

The disclosure Wednesday raises new questions about the propriety of the Palin administration's use of nongovernment email accounts to conduct state business. The practice was revealed months ago prior to Palin's selection as a vice presidential candidate after political critics obtained internal emails documenting the practice by some aides.

One person whose email to Palin apparently was among those disclosed, Amy B. McCorkell, declined to discuss her correspondence. "I do not know anything about it," McCorkell said. "I'm not giving you any comment." Wired.com said McCorkell later confirmed that she did send the email to Palin.

Another of the emails apparently revealed Wednesday was an exchange in July with Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell discussing a talk show host who had been critical of Parnell. Parnell declined to discuss the matter.

Palin herself used "gov.sarah" in one of her email addresses, but the hackers targeted her "gov.palin" account. Her husband used "fek9wnr" in his address. "Fe" is the representation for iron, and "k9" is an abbreviation for canine. Todd Palin was the winner of the grueling Iron Dog snowmobile race, and "fek9wnr" also is Todd Palin's vehicle license tag in Alaska.

It wasn't immediately clear how hackers broke into Palin's Yahoo! account, but it would have been possible to trick the service into revealing her password knowing personal details about Palin that include her birthdate and ZIP code. A hacker also might have sent a forged e-mail to her account tricking her into revealing her own password.

McCorkell was appointed by Palin to an advisory board on issues involving alcohol and drug abuse. One of the leaked emails suggested McCorkell wrote to Palin on Sunday to say she was praying for Palin. "Don't let the negative press get you down!" the message said.

(Agencies via China Daily September 18, 2008) 

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous
China Archives
Related >>
- Palin spells out her role in McCain administration
- Palin leaves open option of war with Russia
- Palin's "Troopergate" case investigation moved up
- Palin's speech draws 37 mln viewers
- Palin accepts vice presidential nomination
Most Viewed >>
- US considering new steps against Russia
- China supports UN observer mission in Georgia
- China, US launch undergraduate summer exchange program
- China, India hold new talks on border
- China Talk: President of Indian Translators Association
> Korean Nuclear Talks
> Reconstruction of Iraq
> Middle East Peace Process
> Iran Nuclear Issue
> 6th SCO Summit Meeting
Links
- China Development Gateway
- Foreign Ministry
- Network of East Asian Think-Tanks
- China-EU Association
- China-Africa Business Council
- China Foreign Affairs University
- University of International Relations
- Institute of World Economics & Politics
- Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies
- Institute of West Asian & African Studies
- Institute of Latin American Studies
- Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies
- Institute of Japanese Studies