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Hacker 'Guccifer,' Who Uncovered Clinton's Private Emails, To Be Extradited To US (rt.com) 210

schwit1 writes: Guccifer, the infamous Romanian hacker who accessed emails of celebrities and top US officials, will be extradited to the United States after losing a case in his home country's top court. Reuters reports that Lehel will come to the US under an 18-month extradition order, following a request made by the US authorities. Details of the extradition have not been made public, however. Marcel Lehel, a 42-year-old hacker better known by his pseudonym "Guccifer," achieved notoriety when he released an email with images of paintings by former President George W. Bush, including a self-portrait in a bathtub. He also hacked and published emails from celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio, Steve Martin and Mariel Hemingway. Perhaps most notably, Lehel was also the first source to uncover Hillary Clinton's improper use of a private email account while she was Secretary of State, which the FBI is investigating as a potential danger to national security.
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Hacker 'Guccifer,' Who Uncovered Clinton's Private Emails, To Be Extradited To US

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 07, 2016 @09:26PM (#51656717)

    "Clinton's improper use of a private email"

    No. If that was true, the FBI would have charged her long ago.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 07, 2016 @09:27PM (#51656723)

      Exactly. She already confirmed she did nothing wrong.

      • by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 07, 2016 @09:46PM (#51656821)

        If she did nothing wrong, then neither did he. If she actually did something wrong -- like exposing state secrets to Romanian hackers -- then she goes to jail, and he is a whistleblower, a Romanian hero who did a great favor to American people.

        • by youngone ( 975102 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @10:07PM (#51656907)

          then she goes to jail

          As if! She's far too rich and far too white to go to jail in the US.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by TapeCutter ( 624760 )
            If she goes to jail then Powell and Rice should also go to jail for setting the precedent. Either the State Secretary's correspondence is private, or it's not. The republicans can't have it both ways.
            • by haruchai ( 17472 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @11:14PM (#51657219)

              "The republicans can't have it both ways" - you have a LOT to learn about Republicans.

            • by danbert8 ( 1024253 ) on Tuesday March 08, 2016 @08:06AM (#51658279)

              It depends. If Powell and Rice were also sending classified information using private email, then yes, they should also go to jail. If they used personal email for non-classified correspondence then they violated retention policy, not the law.

            • Were the circumstances exactly the same? Sending classified materials to non-governmental email servers without authorization?

              If so, then you are absolutely correct - they should see the inside of a courtroom just the same. "But my political opposition did it first" is not a valid legal defense, no matter how much some politicians and their sycophants would like it to be.

            • I think you misunderstand that many conservatives and independents would like to see anyone who engages in that go to jail. I long for a country where there's one set of rules for everyone. No exceptions. If that means both D and R go to jail I'm fine with it because I'm confident if I did it then I'd be behind bars now.
            • Well, the law on private e-mail servers was changed after Powell and Rice. It was also changed after Clinton. If Kerry or future Sec.States did it, it would be illegal. Under Clinton/Powell/Rice, it was legal.

        • by PPH ( 736903 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @10:12PM (#51656945)

          If she did nothing wrong, then neither did he.

          Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. It depends on how exactly he unearthed details of Clinton's personal server.

          From TFS:

          Hillary Clinton's improper use of a private email account while she was Secretary of State, which the FBI is investigating as a potential danger to national security.

          I suspect that, if Lehel actually got into the server, the hacking charges might be dropped in exchange for his testimony. His viewing classified data, or even getting that close as a foreign national will be used as the evidence of damage in a trial against Hillary. It goes from a potential danger where 'sensitive material could have been at risk' to an actual incident.

        • by KGIII ( 973947 )

          Non-sequitur. It does not follow, for those playing the home game. Hacking an account is illegal. To say that if she'd not had encrypted email on there that it is not a crime is, well... Stupid. I'm not sure who moderated you up.

          Even if she had done no wrong, his actions are still illegal. They are different crimes (maybe) but they are still going to be charged with other crimes.

          • by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 07, 2016 @10:53PM (#51657139)

            > Hacking an account is illegal.

            Oh, really? Then may I ask for the extradition of the entire NSA staff for hacking the accounts of French, German and Japanese politicians?

            • by haruchai ( 17472 )

              +5 Insightful

            • > Hacking an account is illegal.

              Oh, really? Then may I ask for the extradition of the entire NSA staff for hacking the accounts of French, German and Japanese politicians?

              Nothing is illegal when you're friends with enough soldiers.

            • by N1AK ( 864906 )

              Oh, really? Then may I ask for the extradition of the entire NSA staff for hacking the accounts of French, German and Japanese politicians?

              If you haven't been able to work out the difference between "illegal" and "illegal with a powerful enough government/agency backing you up" by now...

            • Hacking an account is illegal.

              Oh, really? Then may I ask for the extradition of the entire NSA staff for hacking the accounts of French, German and Japanese politicians?

              Please. I would gladly support this action. Even if you can't get the low level guys even getting the ones at the top would be worthwhile, unfortunately, French, German, and Japanese jails are far too nice for these people.

            • by KGIII ( 973947 )

              Absolutely, be my guest. I'll even help fund their trip to your particular country so that you can try them there.

              I'm not sure what your point is.

        • I'm okay with that logic.

      • by EvilSS ( 557649 ) on Tuesday March 08, 2016 @09:29AM (#51658673)

        Exactly. She already confirmed she did nothing wrong.

        This is Guccifer's problem. If he would just come out and confirm that he did nothing wrong in a press conference then it would all go away.

    • Bwahahahaha
    • by cosm ( 1072588 )
      What, like wipe it with a cloth?
    • by KGIII ( 973947 )

      There's a documentary called "The Worst Town on the Internet" and it has him in there. He didn't think he did much wrong and was pissed about having gotten a long sentence in his come country. He's gotta be right pissed now that he's gotta come to the US and face more time.

      • Unless he comes to the US, and cuts a deal in order to testify as to what he found on Clinton's email server while hacking it, e.g. testify that he saw classified documents that weren't there.

    • by Holi ( 250190 )
      It said improper not illegal.
    • The FBI is currently investigating her. Move along Potsy.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    No?

  • just remember... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @09:32PM (#51656761)

    you are free to hack and extort from the little people, just don't mess with the people running the show or they will burn you alive. he would have been safer and richer if he just proliferated ransomware.

    • This is true. The Germans were quite "meh" when it came to the NSA intercepting German email, until it came out they were also targeting Chancellor Merkel. Then the sh*t suddenly hit the fan.
  • Shame on Romania (Score:5, Interesting)

    by manu0601 ( 2221348 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @09:37PM (#51656781)
    Shame on Romania for extradition of one of their own nationals. He should have been prosecuted in his home country.
  • by trout007 ( 975317 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @09:51PM (#51656841)

    Of course she didn't have anything illegal in her emails.

    • by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Hillary is not tech-savvy enough to hack. Her emails revealed she had trouble working her desktop email client, preferring her Blackberry to process emails.

      Democrats sure like their Blackberries. I'm surprised they didn't try to bail out that company like they did GM :-)

      • by SuricouRaven ( 1897204 ) on Tuesday March 08, 2016 @02:15AM (#51657555)

        I gather it's the same situation you see at any organisation. The IT department sets up elaborate security systems - multi-factor authentication, resources that can only be accessed from physically secured locations, the works. But all that security greatly annoys the users, so they go behind IT's back and start using their personal email address instead. Because it works, and is more convenient.

  • Not on US Soil (Score:4, Insightful)

    by BlueCoder ( 223005 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @10:00PM (#51656869)

    I have a problem with them prosecuting a person in another country. Does that mean I am subject to foreign laws? This is all bullshit.

    If you have a server then it's up to you to secure it. Your failure; then arrest yourself. Otherwise don't connect the server to the outside world.

    And as general policy there should be no hacking laws. All traffic over a computer network is speech.

    If I hook a bomb up to a computer and put it on the internet and someone hacks it who is responsible for the damage? Answer: The idiot that hooked the bomb up to the internet.

    • Re:Not on US Soil (Score:4, Interesting)

      by MrDoh! ( 71235 ) on Monday March 07, 2016 @10:18PM (#51656979) Homepage Journal
      This might just be due diligence by the FBI to get everything lined up before going after Hillary. And/or they're after the emails she's scrubbed if this guy has copies.
      • You might not be that far off. I'm sure that the FBI wants to have an absolutely ironclad case before they go after any politician, much less one running for President. If they were to charge early without having a complete case, ready to go, they would look like they are tampering in a national election while being wholly incompetent.

    • by swb ( 14022 )

      I have a problem with them prosecuting a person in another country. Does that mean I am subject to foreign laws? This is all bullshit.

      Say what you will about the United States, but I don't think there's too many crimes you can commit here that will result in you being extradicted overseas. But there sure seems to be a lot of things you can do overseas that will result in your ass getting shipped to the US to be tried and convicted.

    • Re:Not on US Soil (Score:4, Informative)

      by KGIII ( 973947 ) <uninvolved@outlook.com> on Monday March 07, 2016 @10:39PM (#51657099) Journal

      The powers that be view it like this...

      The hardware was on US soil. The alleged crime took place at that physical point. The crime is on US soil.

      'Snot my fault but that's their reasoning. It makes sense, at least at first blush it does. People should lock their doors but it's still a crime to enter an unlocked home in my jurisdiction.

      • by aevan ( 903814 )
        Which is amusing when it comes to things like "Yes, your servers are in another nation, but you are American/do business in America, therefore we demand to see what's on your servers.'

        Pretty much distills to: "whatever view favours us"
        • by KGIII ( 973947 )

          If even a financial transaction hits a bank in the US (not even owned by a company that is headquartered in the US but simply passing through their bank) then it also magically becomes a US' jurisdiction. There's not a damned thing more that I can do about it. It is what it is.

        • Which is amusing when it comes to things like "Yes, your servers are in another nation, but you are American/do business in America, therefore we demand to see what's on your servers.' Pretty much distills to: "whatever view favours us"

          And you think this is a bad thing?
          Your choice is whtever favours us, or whatever favours them. I know which I prefer.

    • by jIyajbe ( 662197 )

      If I build a house and install a flimsy lock on its door, and someone breaks through it into my house, I'm not the one who committed a crime.

    • I have a problem with them prosecuting a person in another country. Does that mean I am subject to foreign laws? This is all bullshit.

      Most likely what he did was illegal in his own country as well. That's one of the things they look at when deciding whether to extradite someone or not.

      And as general policy there should be no hacking laws. All traffic over a computer network is speech.

      You could make a convincing argument for "with a computer" laws being a bad idea. But then cracking could be covered by a law against using deception to access information that you should have known you were not intended to access. Speech/writing can be illegal, for example fraud.

    • Re:Not on US Soil (Score:5, Insightful)

      by N1AK ( 864906 ) on Tuesday March 08, 2016 @03:23AM (#51657673) Homepage

      If you have a server then it's up to you to secure it. Your failure; then arrest yourself. Otherwise don't connect the server to the outside world.

      This is fucking idiotic logic. I suppose if you have a wallet and get mugged you should be prosecuted for not securing it. Got tail ended by a drunk driver, your prosecuted for causing an accident by not getting out of the way.

    • Re:Not on US Soil (Score:5, Informative)

      by naughtynaughty ( 1154069 ) on Tuesday March 08, 2016 @03:27AM (#51657681)

      Yes, you are subject to the laws of other countries

      Attacking my computer isn't free speech. You want to speak, get a cardboard sign and march around my neighborhood with it and say whatever you want. Don't pretend that breaking into my computer and stealing my email is you freely speaking.

      You sound like a burglar blaming his victims for not having better locks on their doors.

      • Should I be extradited if I send anti-Chinese-gov't documents to someone in China? This isn't a precedent we want to set.

        That said, I do think it's a special case and not the beginning of a slippery slope. I just don't like the logic being applied.

        • No, because anti-China speech is protected in the United States under the First Amendment, and the US would have absolutely no problem telling China to pack salt on that. No country extradites (or at least, shouldn't) for crimes that aren't crimes where they are too. I'll bet that unauthorized use of a computer is a crime in Romania, just like it is here in the US.

    • That's a horrible example. Of course the guy who made the bomb would be responsible, because it's illegal to make bombs. But the guy that hacked it also committed a crime - unauthorized use of a computer system.

      Better example: I leave the front door of my house unlocked, and someone comes in and steals all my shit while I'm away. Is that person not a thief, because I didn't secure my house?

      Use your brain.

    • I have a problem with them prosecuting a person in another country. Does that mean I am subject to foreign laws? This is all bullshit.

      If you have a server then it's up to you to secure it. Your failure; then arrest yourself. Otherwise don't connect the server to the outside world.

      Oh right, I'll remember that next time any crime is committed. You should have not allowed me to rape you, it's all your fault....

    • Just ask Kim Dotcom. He never set foot in the US.
  • Premature accusation (Score:3, Informative)

    by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Tuesday March 08, 2016 @12:08AM (#51657353) Journal

    improper use of a private email account

    That has NOT been proven in a court of law yet. Many experts say the laws at the time were poorly written such as to make prosecution very difficult.

    Bad judgement, yes. Illegal? Subjective.

    • Who is saying that? The law is very clear, classified information is not allowed on personal email servers. Period.
      • Who is saying that? The law is very clear, classified information is not allowed on personal email servers. Period.

        If it's clear then perhaps you could quote the actual law here? Because I'm sure the wording doesn't actually say "classified information is not allowed on personal email servers. Period."

        This is why we have lawyers, because regular folks seem to have no clue about how the law actually works.

  • ...never to be seen again. I'm sure they have places worse than ADX Florence specially reserved for people that embarrass the top brass.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    To avoid the most severe penalties he will deliver up those emails that Hillary conveniently deleted. That way the NSA doesn't have to burn any political bridges by coughing them up. We know he has some of them since he published screenshots of some classified emails that never quite made it to the FBI. Sucks to be caught between two government agencies trying not to look bad...

  • by Anonymous Coward

    She is holding Top Secret documents in an unsafe location. She was sending Top Secret documents across open networks.
    He found out about it.
    She has a team of top lawyers and the POTUS in her pocket.
    He gets jail, she continues running for office.

  • Congressional Medal of Honor is an award that needs to be considered.

    Get this: to make the point that she did nothing wrong Miss Clinton would continue to use home server and would state that we have always been doing this and there was never a problem.

    In the future, reflecting past and reconsidering their path to success president Bernie, Donald or Cruz, whoever the president at the time, will probably pardon this dude.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Can we extradite Hillary to Benghazi for prosecution to?

"In my opinion, Richard Stallman wouldn't recognise terrorism if it came up and bit him on his Internet." -- Ross M. Greenberg

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