RICHARD J DURBIN
UNITED STATES SENATE
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durbin.senate.9ov
September 14,
2004
The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950
Dear Attorney
General Gonzales:
I read with
interest that the U.S. Attorney in
investigation into the illegal electronic access of hotel heiress Paris
Hilton’s cell phone. According to
a story in today’s Washington Post, following an aggressive
investigation by the Department of
Justice, a teenager confessed to exploiting a security flaw in T-Mobile
Corporation’s computer
server to access Ms. Hilton’s and other customers’ files.
While I appreciate the vigor and diligence with which the Justice Department
has pursued the high- tech scofflaw plaguing Ms. Hilton, I must say I am less
than impressed with the attention shown to a criminal investigation which bears
striking similarities to the Hilton case.
I am referring to the criminal investigation into the theft and use of
Democratic computer tiles from
the Senate Judiciary Committee computer server which was opened by the Justice
Department in
April of 2004. The case was referred by the Justice Department to the U.S.
Attorney’s office for the
Southern District of New York, but to date, it is unclear whether any progress
has been made.
A vigorous criminal investigation into the theft and use of these files is
warranted. If the U.S.
Attorney’s office in
Attorney in
cases, would be better suited to handle this investigation.
Based on an April 2004 investigative report prepared by the Senate
Sergeant-at-Arms, it appears that from some time in 2001 until at least the
spring of 2003, two former Republican staff members, Mr. Jason Lundell and Mr. Manuel Miranda, stole and used information
from internal and confidential Democratic office computer files, including
memoranda from counsel to Senators. These staff members knowingly exceeded
authorized access and intentionally exploited a security flaw to access
materials on government computers they were not entitled to access and thereby
obtained information used for their advantage and possibly in violation of
other laws. They read, downloaded, printed, and used such files for their own
personal and partisan purposes.
While the two Senate employees named in the Sergeant-at-Arms report have since
resigned from the Senate due to their involvement in these activities, it is
unclear whether or not they continue to use
The Honorable
Alberto Gonzales
September 14, 2005
page 2
materials obtained illegally for their own purposes. One of these individuals,
Mr. Miranda, now heads an organization known as the Third Branch Conference, a
coalition of grassroots conservative organizations involved in judicial issues.
1-ic is a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and claims to be an
advisor to various Members of Congress on judicial matters. Only a serious
investigation can determine whether Mr. Miranda is continuing to use the fruits
of his illegal activities to further his career.
I believe that the unauthorized accessing, reading, downloading, printing, and
use of these files is every bit as serious as the
illegal access to Paris Hilton’s cell phone files. But repeated attempts to
discover the status of the investigation have been unsuccessful. Perhaps the
appointment of a new special prosecutor can invigorate this investigation and
move it forward in a timely manner that will yield results.
Thank you for your prompt consideration and action in response to this request.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin