Former Dem Senate staffer headed to prison for doxxing five GOP Senators during the Kavanaugh hearings

If you were paying close attention during the Democrats’ Brett Kavanaugh implosion, you may remember this story. Five Republican Senators, Kavanaugh supporters all, were ‘doxxed’ by someone who was apparently seeking revenge for their support of the then-embattled Supreme Court nominee. The story, though serious, received little coverage in the heat of the Kavanaugh battle, but it did make a few waves.

“Doxxing” is the practice of releasing someone’s private data, anything from addresses to phone numbers to Social Security numbers and credit card info, usually in retaliation for a real or perceived slight. At first, Senators Graham, Hatch and Lee were victimized.  Later, they were joined by McConnell and Paul.

Last October, we learned the perpetrator’s name was Jackson Cosko. At the time of the hearings, he was an aide to Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

Clean cut all-american young man –Jackson Cosko – GW University grad — who no doubt thought his SysAdmin skills would make it impossible for the Capitol Hill Police to identify him. This photo is from his LinkedIn profile pic.twitter.com/BmXl1N3Kdf

— Christopher Burgess (@burgessct) October 4, 2018

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Eventually, he admitted his guilt and now, via the worst website in the world, we know that he’s headed to prison.

A former aide to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for hacking Senate computers and releasing personal information online about five Republican senators out of anger spurred by their roles in the confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

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U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan said the sentence for Jackson Cosko, 27, was needed to send a signal that criminal harassment driven by political motives would be punished severely in an era marked by extreme political polarization.

“We have…a society that has become very vicious,” Hogan said. “It’s very concerning to the court and unfortunate that you played into that.”

In April, Cosko pleaded guilty to five felonies, admitting that after being fired last year from his work as a systems administrator on Hassan’s staff, he repeatedly used a colleague’s key to enter the office, install keylogging equipment that stole work and personal email passwords, and downloaded a massive trove of data from Senate systems.

According to the feds, “The defendant ultimately copied entire network drives, sorted and organized sensitive data, and explored ways to use that data to his benefit.” He then posted some of that data on the web.

Judge Hogan said Cosko’s sentence is designed to send a signal.

“It was a rather vicious offense,” Hogan said. “That was totally unjustified….We need to send a message out there. We need to have some deterrent and community understanding.”

For his part, Cosko claims he is “embarrassed” by what he did, and he accepts full responsibility.

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He’s not alone. Also facing charges is a second former Hassan staffer, Samantha Deforest-Davis. As Cosko’s accomplice, she’s been accused of evidence tampering and aiding and abetting computer fraud. Like her crony, she’s expected to plead guilty, though her charges are only misdemeanors.

We know it’s low-level, and we know it’s not the orange pantsuit that conservatives hope to see.  However, it’s nice to see that there are consequences for someone in Washington D.C., even if they are small potatoes.