Hacked e-mails

[rpalfrey]

Jurisdiction

D.C.

Is the use of - publication or extraction of information - not considered possession of stolen property, and thus carry criminal repercussions? This is in regards to the hacked accounts of the Democratic Party, et al.

 

[adjusterjack]

Hacking is a crime in itself and carries criminal penalties so I fail to see what the purpose of your question is.

 

[rpalfrey]

Hacking is a crime in itself and carries criminal penalties so I fail to see what the purpose of your question is.

It pertains to the hacked DNC emails and D Trumps use of them. I am assuming Mr Trump was not the hacker, but use of emails obtained from hackers, IMHO, should carry with it possession of stolen property

 

[ElleMD]

Sorry, but that is not the case. It may be distasteful to use someone's emails which have been made public, but it is not illegal.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You're missing a critical step. The emails were publicized by another party. They have become public knowledge. If the Donald Trump campaign obtained Hillary Clinton's emails illegally there would be a question about using those emails that were obtained illegally. It's the same as the Clinton campaign using an illegally obtained copy of Donald Trump's private property, be it an unauthorized copy of his tax returns. This is why there is a question looming about the New York Times' publication of Mr. Trump's tax returns that were assumed to have been obtained illegally. I won't get into other privileges, rights and defenses that might be asserted, just connecting the dots.