US Sen Hatch hacks Dem's server and gets caught!

[SPG]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-congress-memos.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. Senate Republican expressed ``deep regret'' on Tuesday in announcing that an internal investigation of computer records found one of his staffers had ``improperly accessed'' Democratic documents.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said he placed the staffer on administrative leave with pay pending a separate probe by the Senate sergeant at arms, Bill Pickle.
Hatch, who had initially ridiculed the allegations, also said a former staffer ``may also have been involved,'' but declined to identify either person by name.
``I am mortified that this improper, unethical and simply unacceptable breach of confidential files may have occurred on my watch,'' the Utah Republican told a news conference.
Hatch said the staffer who got access to the memos denied giving them to the news media and it remained unclear how reporters got them.
The disclosure came a week after congressional law enforcement authorities began looking into what Democrats called an apparent computer theft of 14 staff memos critical of President Bush's embattled judicial nominees.
The Democratic memos were quoted in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times earlier this month.
According to the memos, Democrats on Hatch's panel conferred with liberal groups in opposing Bush's most conservative judicial nominees.
Hatch had suggested that the memos had been turned over to the news media by a ``conscience-stricken'' Democratic staffer.

That's a felony boys and girls. Not only that, but what if this wasn't the first time? Just goes to show you what the rethuglicans are not only capable of, but willing to do to advance their agenda.

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by SPG
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-congress-memos.html



That's a felony boys and girls. Not only that, but what if this wasn't the first time? Just goes to show you what the rethuglicans are not only capable of, but willing to do to advance their agenda.


Gald we're trying so hard to facilitate mature and rational discussions. :rolleyes:


Lethal

[Thanatoast]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Gald we're trying so hard to facilitate mature and rational discussions.
Can you rationally and maturely defend the Republicans? They haven't used rational, mature debate to argue their agenda in quite a while. Reference: Rush Limbaush, Sean Hannity, Jerry Fallwell, et al. Maybe it's time the Democrats stopped letting them control the debate and getting away with murder.

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by Thanatoast
Can you rationally and maturely defend the Republicans? They haven't used rational, mature debate to argue their agenda in quite a while. Reference: Rush Limbaush, Sean Hannity, Jerry Fallwell, et al. Maybe it's time the Democrats stopped letting them control the debate and getting away with murder.

When did I try to defend anyone? I just think that SPG's flamebait is juvenile. The sophomoric name calling that most of the threads decay into is embarrassing enough. I don't see the point of starting off new threads in the gutter too.

Nice mini-rant BTW. Although I'm not clear as to what it has to do w/my post which you quoted. ;)


Lethal

[pseudobrit]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
When did I try to defend anyone? I just think that SPG's flamebait is juvenile.

Flamebait? Maybe "rethuglicans" was harsh, but what is wrong with his statement?

It's a cyber Watergate.

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by pseudobrit
Flamebait? Maybe "rethuglicans" was harsh, but what is wrong with his statement?

It's a cyber Watergate.

"Rethuglicans" is an obvious taunt. If someone posted in the Hardware forum and refered to Macs as "crapintosh" or "crapapples" I think that would qualify as flamebait and that poster would probably be called a troll more than once. I don't see how "rethuglicans" or "democraps" or any other derogatory remark is any different. If it serves no other purpose than to push people's buttons it's flamebait IMO.


Lethal

[Thanatoast]

SPG may have baited in his message, but his quotation of the article showed the intent of his post, even though the merits of his tactics are debatable.

I quoted you, LethalWolfe, because rather than taking issue with the article, you took issue with SPG. Your responding purely to his flamebait and ignoring his article is, in its own way, just as bad. IOW, you stayed at his level.

I thought it was a pretty good mini-rant, myself, thank you. ;)

[wwworry]

Who was it, exactly, that ousted the CIA agent? Is a paid leave (for the staffer) a punishment, or a vacation/reward?

[IJ Reilly]

Getting back to the subject for a moment, I have to be a little amused by Hatch's righteous indignation over his staffer's bad (and presumably, illegal) behavior. I mean, Sen. Hatch must think we've never witnessed any of his abrasive political warrior tactics; eg accusing Democrats on his Judiciary Committee of being bigoted against Catholics and Latinos for opposing two Bush court nominees. Anyone who is willing to go as far over the top in pursuit of his political agenda as frequently and with as much vinegar as Orin Hatch cannot credibly profess shock and dismay when one of his staffers follows his example.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by IJ Reilly
Getting back to the subject for a moment, I have to be a little amused by Hatch's righteous indignation over his staffer's bad (and presumably, illegal) behavior.

odds are mr. hatch is upset ony because the kid got caught.

[SPG]

Okay, the rethuglican name wasn't intended for all republicans or even conservatives but intended to adress the illegal actions of a thug for republican gains. I guess I should have either written my intent more clearly or avoided it's use altogether, but I was going to be late for a dinner party if I really got into it last night. My apologies to any republican who thought it was aimed at them, unless of course they are also involved in illegal or brutish or unethical or otherwise thuglike behaviour.

[SPG]

Originally posted by IJ Reilly
I have to be a little amused by Hatch's righteous indignation over his staffer's bad (and presumably, illegal) behavior.

presume no more:
18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(3):

"Whoever intentionally, without authorization to access any nonpublic computer of a department or agency of the United States, accesses such a computer of that department or agency that is exclusively for the use of the Government of the United States or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, is used by or for the Government of the United States and such conduct affects that use by or for the Government of the United States shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this section."

18 U.S.C. 1030(c)(2)(A):

"The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) ... of this section is ... a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection ... (a)(3) ... of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph ...."

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by SPG
Okay, the rethuglican name wasn't intended for all republicans or even conservatives but intended to adress the illegal actions of a thug for republican gains. I guess I should have either written my intent more clearly or avoided it's use altogether, but I was going to be late for a dinner party if I really got into it last night. My apologies to any republican who thought it was aimed at them, unless of course they are also involved in illegal or brutish or unethical or otherwise thuglike behaviour.


So, did you have a good time at the dinner party?

A bit more clarity would have been appriciated. For example, something along the lines of "Republican, Hatch is more like a rethuglican" would have been quite amusing. :)

Back on topic, sort of, what's the name of that senator who thought P2P users' computers should be remotely detonated? For some reason that's the first thing I thought of when I read this. :D


Lethal

[SPG]

Yes Lethal, dinner was quite nice.
No, I don't recall who if anyone said that, but it seems a fairly ludicrous statement.
I haven't really seen too much about this hacking incident in the papers, it seems to be getting buried down in the teens and twenties. Why's that? I read this last night and was blown away. One senator's staff stealing private memos from the opposition seems like a big deal to me, then again so does revealing the identity of a covert CIA operative or lying about the reasons to wage war, but those stories seem to be getting buried too.

[pseudobrit]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Back on topic, sort of, what's the name of that senator who thought P2P users' computers should be remotely detonated? For some reason that's the first thing I thought of when I read this. :D
None other than...

Orrin Hatch:

He went on to describe a technology that would warn users twice about downloading, then "destroy their computer."

"If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," he said.

"If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize"

I wonder if he'd support legislation that destroyed your computer when used to hack into a political rivals systems.

[mactastic]

Originally posted by pseudobrit
None other than...

Orrin Hatch:



I wonder if he'd support legislation that destroyed your computer when used to hack into a political rivals systems.

How about legislation that destroyed your political career when your computer was used to hack into a rival's system?:D