Prosecutors say Todd and Bristol Palin will testify against Kernell

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The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that federal prosecutors say Sarah Palin's oldest daughter has been added to the government's witness list, as the first day of the trial of a former University of Tennessee student accused of illegally breaking into Sarah Palin's private e-mail account concludes:

Bristol Palin, 19, is expected to testify along with her mother and father, Todd Palin, against the 22-year-old Kernell.

The son of longtime Memphis state Rep. Mike Kernell, he faces federal charges of computer fraud, identity theft, aiding and abetting computer fraud, and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors are not saying when the Palins might testify.

The prosecutors did not make clear exactly what Bristol might be asked to testify to.

In the courtroom today, the defendant's ex-roommate David Omiecinski told U.S. District Court jurors that one night in September, 2008, Kernell invited him his room to see a Yahoo! page used to change a password and a Wikipedia page about Palin on Kernell's computer screen. Omiecinski said Kernell told him that he had learned about Palin's private account and was attempting to guess the answer to her security question:

Omiecinski said he did not think Kernell would be successful and went back to bed. He said Kernell later apologized to him about involving him albeit it briefly after Kernell learned he was under FBI probe.

In his opening statement this morning, federal prosecutor Mark Krotoski told the jury in his opening statement that Kernell intentionally gained access to then Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin's private e-mail account, openly boasted about it on the Web and made the new password he had given Palin's email account available for others to use:

"The evidence will show the defendant hoped to derail the (Republican 2008 presidential) campaign," Krotoski said.

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Kernell allegedly posted the new password on the Internet but lamented that his own perusal of the e-mail account failed to produce any damaging political information about then-Alaska Gov. Palin. Federal authorities allege that the posting allowed at least one other person to illegally access an account the national media was alleging Palin used to funnel gubernatorial business away from her official - and public - e-mail account.

At the time, Palin and McCain were in a contest against Democratic competitors Obama and running mate Sen. Joe Biden.

In his opening remarks to jurors, defense attorney Wade Davies tried to downplay the seriousness of Kernell's actions as "a college prank":

"He had no real reason to believe someone who is a governor and especially someone running for vice president of the United States would have one of these (Yahoo!) accounts," Davies said.

Although Davies said Kernell was wrong to have accessed the account, the lawyer said his client is guilty of little more than a misdemeanor.

Although Davis didn't answer reporters' questions about the personal life of his client, Kernell's Facebook page, which has since been scrubbed, had this interesting self-description:

"Obamacrat"

The trial will resume tomorrow.

- JP