7 ms·

Hillary's IT guy asking Reddit how to cover up emails

266 points by nimbleDT 10y ago

cwisecarver 10y ago
Assuming it's true it isn't incriminating but it does kind of make him look like an idiot. Posting to reddit anything about a VIP seems like a bad idea. Posting it under a username you use all over the internet is even worse. I think it adds to the list of bad decisions HRC and her subordinates have made regarding email in specific and technology in general.
- cwisecarver 10y ago
  I'm not one to complain about down votes but seriously? What exactly about my comment was wrong, feel free to check the current thread about the House investigating it. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12535872 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12535872
Overtonwindow 10y ago
As much as I hate HRC, I really don't think the email issue is ever going to lead to anything. Not for her at least. Some poor IT guy may get it in the end, but it's painfully obvious the same rules do not apply to elected officials as they do to the rest of us.
- cmiles74 10y ago
  None of these suggestions were particularly helpful, I doubt he was successful in scrubbing these addresses.
- skywhopper 10y ago
  Oh, are all your old emails regularly examined by the FBI and a hostile press, and published across global media? When did you testify to Congress about it?
  - echaozh 10y ago
    I'm not an American, and I am not very sure if my view is correct. But is the press really hostile to HRC?
AnimalMuppet 10y ago
It's on US News And World Report: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-19/paul-combetta-computer-specialist-who-deleted-hillary-clinton-emails-may-have-asked-reddit-for-tips http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-19/paul-combetta... Seems like a decent summary...
headhunter 10y ago
At first I thought this was a total hoax, but the account has been deleted and the incriminating posts are over 2 years old. Here is a pastebin I found of online information linking all his profiles together: http://pastebin.com/NmXcUC1X http://pastebin.com/NmXcUC1X This is pretty incriminating.
- joshmn 10y ago
  > This is pretty incriminating. It is, but it isn't. One could argue that someone, let's say Bob, happened to overhear some guy named Paul needing to do exactly this. He overheard it at a bar. Bob then thought "oh, well if it's someone really VIP, this could make for some good lulz with my efriends. Who does Paul work for that is _really_ VIP? Let me Google Paul." "Oh, here's his email address... stonetear@gmail.com. I wonder if he's on reddit. ... Guess not. Let's make a post that's pretty obviously incriminating." I think that'd be the first argument made, at least. IANAL, but I do have some courtroom experience. An IP is also not a person, https://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-not-person-140324/ https://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-not-person-140324/
  - nugget 10y ago
    Stonetear's post history spans for years, is quite extensive, and includes photos of himself and his family, and references to a car and other items, all of which apparently match up to the subject in question. I became pretty convinced within a few minutes of reading it (and checking the primary material to see if it checked out, which it has so far). If true, this is incredible, that a subreddit was able to uncover publicly available evidence that the FBI missed.
  - burkaman 10y ago
    It isn't court of law incriminating, but it's more than enough for the court of public opinion.
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      > It isn't court of law incriminating, but it's more than enough for the court of public opinion. I doubt it; its reinforcing for the people that are already inclined to the belief and so need no additional evidence, and not likely to be particularly interesting to most of the rest of the public (who, in any case, has pretty much tuned out the whole issue by now.)
joemi 10y ago
Maybe I'm completely ignorant of the situation, but it just sounds like he was trying to keep some email addresses private, in anticipation of some kind of potential release. Is that bad?
- abtinf 10y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoliation_of_evidence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoliation_of_evidence
  - ceejayoz 10y ago
    Censoring email addresses on a copy of the PST sounds a bit more like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redaction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redaction "Basically, they don't want the VIP's email address exposed to anyone, and want to be able to either strip out or replace the email address in the to/from fields in all of the emails we want to send out."
- jordache 10y ago
  Yes it's pretty clear that the content of the email is not to be adjusted, just the To/From fields. This seems to be legitimate work before an anticipate public release of email.
  - threepipeproblm 10y ago
    If that were true, why did he specifically ask for help to "strip out or replace the email address in the to/from fields in all of the emails". source: reddit via http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=38414 http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=38414
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      > > Yes it's pretty clear that the content of the email is not to be adjusted, just the To/From fields. > If that were true, why did he specifically ask for help to "strip out or replace the email address in the to/from fields in all of the emails". What your quote said he asked for help to do is exactly what GP suggested was the only thing he was trying to do. So, what you say he asked is exactly what you'd expect if he was trying to do only what GP suggested.
haney 10y ago
There's now a post in /r/exchangeserver that's making fun of this old post[1], but is there a link to the original (or has the post been deleted?). I'm still rather skeptical of things I read on /r/conspiracy. 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/exchangeserver/comments/53ick9/remove_or_replace_tofrom_address_on_archived/ https://www.reddit.com/r/exchangeserver/comments/53ick9/remo...
- nimbleDT 10y ago
  This actually surfaced on many different sub-reddits, but kept getting removed due to the 'anti-doxxing' policy, which I think is generally a good policy to have, but in this case the whole point of the story is linking a real world person to an online alias. Anyway, I don't have a horse in this race, just thought it was an interesting story both politically and from a security perspective.
- awqrre 10y ago
  http://archive.is/FXcao http://archive.is/FXcao
RunawayGalaxy 10y ago
I believe it, but can't he just claim coincidence on the Reddit handle?
- swalsh 10y ago
  Unless Reddit was subpoenaed and they linked his account with a known email of his.
- whamlastxmas 10y ago
  Supposedly post history/images confirm it was his.
swalsh 10y ago
This seems like enough to demonstrate intent (the big thing they couldn't prove previously) is there any reason this isn't enough evidence to open a case by the justice department?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- adamors 10y ago
  Yes, Obama endorsed HRC.
  - williamle8300 10y ago
    How does the President get to dictate how the Justice dept rules? The executive and judicial branches are separate
    - quiet_1 10y ago
      The DOJ is not a part of the judicial branch - it is under the executive branch. https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/executive-branch https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/executive-branch
      - 001sky 10y ago
        this is the correct answer. potus get to enforce (or not) the laws. meaning he can let hrc skate on this if he chooses.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - MicroBerto 10y ago
      You clearly haven't followed this Administration's activities much. Executive overreach is a daily activity the past 8 (actually 16) years.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
nimbleDT 10y ago
Exactly why I thought HN might find this story interesting, the 'we did it reddit!' factor is funny in light of the many times they've gotten things horribly wrong -- the Boston marathon bombing comes to mind. Kind of wish it hadn't been flagged and disappeared from the front page so quickly.
- threepipeproblm 10y ago
  Improperly marking a similar post this morning as a "dupe" didn't work -- https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=threepipeproblm https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=threepipeproblm -- so people who don't want to hear this seem to have "flagged" it as off topic? Meanwhile, some recent HN topics that were not flagged as off topic include: * The '80s Public Access Films Produced by a California UFO Cult * Affliction and Salvation: Love Was a Learned Art for Iris Murdoch * My Motherland: Finding–and writing–the worlds where only I had been * Plaster Perspectives on “Magical Gems”: Rethinking the Meaning of “Magic” in Cornell’s Dactyliotheca * I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa * The Real Lolita So two points -- (a) I am not a Republican; and (b) This seems deeply broken at best. Can anyone convince me it isn't a form of censorship? I'm not too familiar with HN's moderation setup.
  - socialist_coder 10y ago
    HN loves the establishment. They are getting rich, why would they want to shake things up?
  - threepipeproblm 10y ago
    Ah the first person to downvote this has no actual defense of it... I was legitimately asking, open to me having misinterpreted this but I'd like know how
  - douche 10y ago
    Possibly relevant: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-clinton-digital-trolling-20160506-snap-htmlstory.html http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-clinton-digital-trolli...
alecco 10y ago
Video of the guy deleting posts on reddit by /u/knowakennedy http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1474291545569.webm http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1474291545569.webm

266 points by nimbleDT 10y ago

Assuming it's true it isn't incriminating but it does kind of make him look like an idiot. Posting to reddit anything about a VIP seems like a bad idea. Posting it under a username you use all over the internet is even worse. I think it adds to the list of bad decisions HRC and her subordinates have made regarding email in specific and technology in general.

cwisecarver 10y ago
I'm not one to complain about down votes but seriously? What exactly about my comment was wrong, feel free to check the current thread about the House investigating it. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12535872 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12535872

Overtonwindow 10y ago

As much as I hate HRC, I really don't think the email issue is ever going to lead to anything. Not for her at least. Some poor IT guy may get it in the end, but it's painfully obvious the same rules do not apply to elected officials as they do to the rest of us.

cmiles74 10y ago
None of these suggestions were particularly helpful, I doubt he was successful in scrubbing these addresses.
skywhopper 10y ago
Oh, are all your old emails regularly examined by the FBI and a hostile press, and published across global media? When did you testify to Congress about it?
- echaozh 10y ago
  I'm not an American, and I am not very sure if my view is correct. But is the press really hostile to HRC?

AnimalMuppet 10y ago

It's on US News And World Report: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-19/paul-combetta-computer-specialist-who-deleted-hillary-clinton-emails-may-have-asked-reddit-for-tips http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-19/paul-combetta... Seems like a decent summary...

headhunter 10y ago

At first I thought this was a total hoax, but the account has been deleted and the incriminating posts are over 2 years old. Here is a pastebin I found of online information linking all his profiles together: http://pastebin.com/NmXcUC1X http://pastebin.com/NmXcUC1X This is pretty incriminating.

joshmn 10y ago
> This is pretty incriminating. It is, but it isn't. One could argue that someone, let's say Bob, happened to overhear some guy named Paul needing to do exactly this. He overheard it at a bar. Bob then thought "oh, well if it's someone really VIP, this could make for some good lulz with my efriends. Who does Paul work for that is _really_ VIP? Let me Google Paul." "Oh, here's his email address... stonetear@gmail.com. I wonder if he's on reddit. ... Guess not. Let's make a post that's pretty obviously incriminating." I think that'd be the first argument made, at least. IANAL, but I do have some courtroom experience. An IP is also not a person, https://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-not-person-140324/ https://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-not-person-140324/
- nugget 10y ago
  Stonetear's post history spans for years, is quite extensive, and includes photos of himself and his family, and references to a car and other items, all of which apparently match up to the subject in question. I became pretty convinced within a few minutes of reading it (and checking the primary material to see if it checked out, which it has so far). If true, this is incredible, that a subreddit was able to uncover publicly available evidence that the FBI missed.
- burkaman 10y ago
  It isn't court of law incriminating, but it's more than enough for the court of public opinion.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > It isn't court of law incriminating, but it's more than enough for the court of public opinion. I doubt it; its reinforcing for the people that are already inclined to the belief and so need no additional evidence, and not likely to be particularly interesting to most of the rest of the public (who, in any case, has pretty much tuned out the whole issue by now.)

joemi 10y ago

Maybe I'm completely ignorant of the situation, but it just sounds like he was trying to keep some email addresses private, in anticipation of some kind of potential release. Is that bad?

abtinf 10y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoliation_of_evidence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoliation_of_evidence
- ceejayoz 10y ago
  Censoring email addresses on a copy of the PST sounds a bit more like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redaction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redaction "Basically, they don't want the VIP's email address exposed to anyone, and want to be able to either strip out or replace the email address in the to/from fields in all of the emails we want to send out."
jordache 10y ago
Yes it's pretty clear that the content of the email is not to be adjusted, just the To/From fields. This seems to be legitimate work before an anticipate public release of email.
- threepipeproblm 10y ago
  If that were true, why did he specifically ask for help to "strip out or replace the email address in the to/from fields in all of the emails". source: reddit via http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=38414 http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=38414
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > > Yes it's pretty clear that the content of the email is not to be adjusted, just the To/From fields. > If that were true, why did he specifically ask for help to "strip out or replace the email address in the to/from fields in all of the emails". What your quote said he asked for help to do is exactly what GP suggested was the only thing he was trying to do. So, what you say he asked is exactly what you'd expect if he was trying to do only what GP suggested.

haney 10y ago

There's now a post in /r/exchangeserver that's making fun of this old post[1], but is there a link to the original (or has the post been deleted?). I'm still rather skeptical of things I read on /r/conspiracy. 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/exchangeserver/comments/53ick9/remove_or_replace_tofrom_address_on_archived/ https://www.reddit.com/r/exchangeserver/comments/53ick9/remo...

nimbleDT 10y ago
This actually surfaced on many different sub-reddits, but kept getting removed due to the 'anti-doxxing' policy, which I think is generally a good policy to have, but in this case the whole point of the story is linking a real world person to an online alias. Anyway, I don't have a horse in this race, just thought it was an interesting story both politically and from a security perspective.
awqrre 10y ago
http://archive.is/FXcao http://archive.is/FXcao

RunawayGalaxy 10y ago

I believe it, but can't he just claim coincidence on the Reddit handle?

swalsh 10y ago
Unless Reddit was subpoenaed and they linked his account with a known email of his.
whamlastxmas 10y ago
Supposedly post history/images confirm it was his.

swalsh 10y ago

This seems like enough to demonstrate intent (the big thing they couldn't prove previously) is there any reason this isn't enough evidence to open a case by the justice department?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
adamors 10y ago
Yes, Obama endorsed HRC.
- williamle8300 10y ago
  How does the President get to dictate how the Justice dept rules? The executive and judicial branches are separate
  - quiet_1 10y ago
    The DOJ is not a part of the judicial branch - it is under the executive branch. https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/executive-branch https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/executive-branch
    - 001sky 10y ago
      this is the correct answer. potus get to enforce (or not) the laws. meaning he can let hrc skate on this if he chooses.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - MicroBerto 10y ago
    You clearly haven't followed this Administration's activities much. Executive overreach is a daily activity the past 8 (actually 16) years.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

nimbleDT 10y ago

Exactly why I thought HN might find this story interesting, the 'we did it reddit!' factor is funny in light of the many times they've gotten things horribly wrong -- the Boston marathon bombing comes to mind. Kind of wish it hadn't been flagged and disappeared from the front page so quickly.

threepipeproblm 10y ago
Improperly marking a similar post this morning as a "dupe" didn't work -- https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=threepipeproblm https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=threepipeproblm -- so people who don't want to hear this seem to have "flagged" it as off topic? Meanwhile, some recent HN topics that were not flagged as off topic include: * The '80s Public Access Films Produced by a California UFO Cult * Affliction and Salvation: Love Was a Learned Art for Iris Murdoch * My Motherland: Finding–and writing–the worlds where only I had been * Plaster Perspectives on “Magical Gems”: Rethinking the Meaning of “Magic” in Cornell’s Dactyliotheca * I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa * The Real Lolita So two points -- (a) I am not a Republican; and (b) This seems deeply broken at best. Can anyone convince me it isn't a form of censorship? I'm not too familiar with HN's moderation setup.
- socialist_coder 10y ago
  HN loves the establishment. They are getting rich, why would they want to shake things up?
- threepipeproblm 10y ago
  Ah the first person to downvote this has no actual defense of it... I was legitimately asking, open to me having misinterpreted this but I'd like know how
- douche 10y ago
  Possibly relevant: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-clinton-digital-trolling-20160506-snap-htmlstory.html http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-clinton-digital-trolli...

alecco 10y ago

Video of the guy deleting posts on reddit by /u/knowakennedy http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1474291545569.webm http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1474291545569.webm