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No indictment in Palin hacking case

A federal grand jury in Chattanooga ends its meeting without indicting a Tennessee lawmaker's son.

Robert Vamosi Former Editor
As CNET's former resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security.
Robert Vamosi
Sarah Palin Alaska governor's office

A grand jury in Chattanooga, Tenn., investigating who hacked Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail ended its meeting on Tuesday without indicting a Tennessee lawmaker's son.

Speculation on the Internet has centered on 20-year-old David Kernell, a University of Tennessee student.

On the Internet forum 4Chan.org, where the e-mail break-in was first announced, posts attributed to someone named "Rubico" more or less described how the Yahoo account had been compromised using the password recovery feature. The e-mail address used for Rubico has been linked to Kernell.

Kernell's father, Democratic Tennessee state representative Mike Kernel, further fueled speculation last week when he confirmed his son was the subject of the investigation. On Saturday, investigators searched David Kernell's campus apartment.

Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney told the ="http: www.wreg.com="" global="" story.asp?s="9059963&nav=3HvD"">AP that the "government's inquiry into this matter is ongoing."