A former aide to U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) plead guilty to assisting in computer hacking and attempted evidence tampering on behalf of a fired colleague Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Twenty-four-year-old Samantha Davis worked as a staff assistant for Hassan and plead to two misdemeanor crimes for playing a part in an operation conducted by a former co-worker that resulted in the release of personal information of Republican senators who helped confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the nation’s highest court.
Davis, according to Politico, gave the office keys to 28-year-old Jackson Cosko with the knowledge that Cosko was planning on entering the office to tamper with staff computers. In court, Davis admitted that she knew Cosko had taken the keys to the office from her purse multiple times without reporting it, admitted she had lied to investigators twice about Cosko’s actions, Politico reported.
Cosko was sentenced last month by Judge Thomas Hogan to four years in prison for breaking into Senate computers and releasing personal information of Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Wikipedia. Information shared included home addresses and phone numbers.
Davis faces a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison but prosecutors seemed unlikely to seek jail time for the former staffer, according to Politico. The defendant’s attorney seemed hopeful that Davis, who has since moved to Wisconsin and is slated to begin teaching this fall, would get a sentenced to probation.
Davis, according to the judge laying out the facts in court, knowingly gave Cosko the office keys and arrived early in the office herself to wipe down the computers to protect Cosko from being caught. Unfortunately for Davis, however, another staffer arrived early at the office on the day Cosko was cleaning up the evidence. Politico reports that Davis protected Cosko in return for a personal loan to cover rent.
According to the paper, Davis worked in Hassan’s office since April 2017 and was fired in December for her actions in the case.
