(CNN) - John McCain's campaign said Wednesday it has contacted "appropriate authorities" over a report that Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail had been hacked.
"This is a shocking invasion of the Governor's privacy and a violation of law," campaign manager Rick Davis said in a statement. "The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these emails will destroy them. We will have no further comment."
The statement came hours after a user on the Web site WikiLeaks said he had gained access to Palin's Yahoo e-mail account and gained access. Screenshots of the e-mail messages and photos of the Alaska governor's family were published on that Web site and later on gossip Web site gawker.com.
FBI Spokesman Eric Gonzalez in Anchorage, Alaska confirms to CNN an investigation is underway.
"We are aware of the allegations and we are coordinating with Secret Service as far as the allegation that someone has hacked into Governor Palin's personal e-mail account," he said. "We are going to be working a joint investigation with Secret Service on this."
Brian Hale, an FBI spokesman in Washington, also confirms the FBI has been contacted about the incident. Two federal law enforcement sources say the FBI and Secret Service would have concurrent jurisdiction normally on a matter such as this, but it remains to be seen if the Secret Service will take the lead on the investigation because Palin is a protectee.
The e-mails shown include one from July between Palin and Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell and another dated earlier this week from Amy McCorkell, the woman Palin appointed to the Governor's Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in 2007.
Palin has faced criticism for using a private e-mail account to conduct some state business - prompting critics to allege she was attempting to hide information from the public record.
From CNN Politics
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What is Sarah Palin hiding???? The American people deserve to know. And we demand an explanation as to why John McCain selected someone under investigation for corruption?? How is he getting away with this? Would Obama get away with picking Eliot Spitzer as his running mate??? Oh yea, I forgot about the whole "white privilege" thing. I smell BS.
With Wall Street’s financial institutions in turmoil, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) argued in a series of interviews today that his experience on the Senate Commerce Committee meant he knew “how to fix this economy.” “I understand the economy. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee that oversights every part of our economy,” McCain told CNBC’s Squawk Box......Watch It
But, as the Washington Post points out, the Commerce Committee doesn’t oversee “every part of our economy,” let alone “the very areas now in crisis“. In fact, it is the Senate Banking Committee that has oversight of “banks, banking and financial institutions; control of prices of commodities, rents and services; federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System; financial aid to commerce and industry and money and credit, including currency and coinage.” According to its Web site, the Commerce Committee oversees 13 areas, beginning with the Coast Guard, and continuing through “regulation of consumer products and services … except for credit, financial services, and housing” — the very areas now in crisis.
It’s not that surprising that McCain is confused about the Commerce Committee’s economic responsibilities, considering that he freely admits, “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.”
Check with the Bush Justice Department, that's their specialty!
Are we still a democracy?
The NEW democrats for Obama are a disgusting bunch of thugs
Surely Obama must have done it, him and all his computer literacy.
If Gov Piglips were honorable and forthright, these hackers (if there are any) wouldn't have any reason to try and uncover the "truth". Try to hide and you'll be smoked out like a rat...
Serves her right. If she had used the government email address they gave her maybe she wouldn't have been hacked (I would think a government server would have more protection than a Yahoo server).
Wow, they must really be worried about what emails were there.
Let me guess, Obama did it? Wait for it....wait for it...
Stop trying to put Palin back in the headlines McCain. There are more important things to discuss at the moment.
Every attack on Sarah Palin gets her 5,000 more votes. The Dems. and the media are burying themselves with each attack they launch.
Keep it up and she'll be in the White House come inauguration day.
Sarah Palin 12 & 16'
The democrats have lost their way...
They have now become those they feared.
I guess that is Obama's inspiration we are seeing at work.
Never so much hatred, have I seen, as the vitriol that Obama agitates and incites in his devout following.
Oooooh, wonder what's in there.
Whoops...got that notice earlier about this but didn't think it was true.
So if they do catch who did this then they get tried for breaking into private systems if Yahoo decides to press charges?
How stupid are you to conduct state business with personal email? Avoiding disclosure of internal emails by subpoena by using Yahoo seems kind dumb now huh?
Can't McCain fix this? Didn't he invent the Blackberry?
just like she was hiding the tanning bed (she purchased herself) The dems are starting to look like watergate.... Your losing ground Obama
One good reason not to use Yahoo mail for state business is that it's not all that secure. It's not that shocking to hear that a Yahoo account's been penetrated.
On the other hand, if the email messages involved were state business, they belong in the public record anyway, which is the real reason it's wrong to use a private email account to carry out state business.
That's uncool. And I really dislike the idea that random people can hack your yahoo account!!!
Is she hiding something?
Sorry, I'm usually not one for conspiracy nonsense, but after the past couple months of having to listen to Republicans on blogs fake they were disaffected Clinton supporters in order to exacerbate the division within the Democratic Party and spout republican talking points, I cannot help but wonder whether the supposed "hacker" was just another Republican plant.
the only reason she would be using her personal email for government business is to hide something. i say there's so little transparency in the alaskan government, we ought to be very scared of putting palin anywhere near the white house. and the campaign's attempt to stop the troopergate investigation is furthering public belief that sarah was engaged in fishy behavior. alaska is not known for it's corrupt officials based entirely on media distortion, afterall.
Aren't you guys involved in another investigation? You know....the one that said you abused your power as governor?
Why don't you try cooperating with that as you originally said you would?
More inspired youth doing Obama's bidding at Obama's request.
Obama the uniter – of the divisive, hateful states of Amerika.
What an ability to inspire, Obama has.
What great change he will bring us.
If that was truly her email, then she is really a dumb or a fraud for conducting official state business using a public email space...Yahoo! for that matter.
Give that hacker the peabody award.
Maybe she should have used her goverment e-mail one would hope that was more secure than Yahoo.
Of couse, she is a yahoo, so, there must be some irony in there somewhere.
Guess, they will not a subpoena that she will just ignore for these e-mails
Must be the payback when your a liar and dishonest!