A federal grand jury was to convene Tuesday to consider evidence in the hacking of Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s Yahoo e-mail account. The prime suspect in the case is David Kernell, the son of Democratic Tennessee State Rep. Mike Kernell.
Meanwhile, the Web site of Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, was reportedly hacked. O’Reilly had been expressing anger about the Palin case, and the hackers posted a list of subscribers to BillOReilly.com on the Wikileaks site. Wikileaks said there was no security on the O’Reilly site.
On Sunday morning, the FBI served a search warrant on Kernell’s apartment in Knoxville, Tenn., near the University of Tennessee, where he is a student, apparently interrupting a party. Kernell’s roommates have been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, television station KBIR reported. The station also reported that Kernell and friends fled when the FBI arrived.
Wade V. Davies, managing partner at the Knoxville firm of Ritchie, Dillard and Davies, has been retained to represent Kernell. In a statement, Davies said, “I have been asked by the Kernell family to represent their son, David. This is a difficult time for David and his family.”
“The Kernell family wants to do the right thing, and they want what is best for their son. We are confident that the truth will emerge as we go through the process. David is a decent and intelligent young man, and I look forward to assisting him during this difficult period.”
Davies is skilled in computer forensics — he authored an article on how to obtain and analyze electronic evidence — a specialty that likely will be important in Kernell’s defense.
In an interview with KBIR, a friend of Kernell’s, Devon Holbrook, expressed concern for his well-being. He said Kernell had never been known as an activist. “I…