Judge Refuses to Dismiss Confession, Evidence in Reuters Employee Hacking Case -- By Kim Zetter, Wired, Threat Level

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a recorded confession and computer evidence collected in the case of a former Reuters employee accused of conspiring with members of Anonymous to hack his former employer.

Matthew Keys, 26, sought to throw out his confession on the grounds that he was on an antidepressant when he confessed to the crime, and thus wasn’t in his right mind to waive his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. He also accused investigators of exceeding the scope of their search warrant to trawl through his computer to gather evidence.

But U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller ruled that the affidavit authorities used to obtain a search warrant for Keys computers was sufficiently particular in its description of the things to be seized and that because authorities believed his computer was used to commit the alleged crime it was justifiably seized.

She also ruled that Keys’ confession and waiver of his Miranda rights were voluntary and involved no improper influence or coercion by authorities, and that his statements during the interrogation were “rational, articulate, cooperative, and polite,” negating subsequent assertions that the drug adversely affected his judgment.

Keys’ defense attorney, Jay Leiderman, asked a U.S. District Court judge in Sacramento in January to suppress the confession and the information seized in the search (.pdf).

Keys was online social media editor for the Reuters news agency when he was indicted in 2013 for allegedly providing a username and password to members of Anonymous to gain access to the server of his former employer, the Tribune Company. Keys allegedly encouraged the hackers to use the credentials to “go fuck some shit up.”

 (Click link below to read more)
READ MORE Sphere: Related Content