Scroll for updates…Wired News confirms…McCain camp responds: “This is a shocking invasion of the Governor’s privacy and a violation of law. 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 feds are investigating…

Sometime early this morning, between approximately 3:00am – 4:00am, members of an infamous group of hackers broke into Gov. Sarah Palin’s private Yahoo e-mail account. The incriminating discussion threads included screenshots of Palin’s e-mail and private e-mail addresses of her contacts. The threads have since been deleted. (More details here.)

Hacking e-mail is a federal crime. A TV anchor who broke into his colleague’s e-mail account recently pleaded guilty and faces a maximum five years in prison.

The law will catch up to the hackers, but what about the lowlifes who are now gleefully splashing the alleged contents of Palin’s private e-mail account all over the Internet?

The Gawker smear machine — see here for all the background you need — has posted private family photos of Palin’s children that were apparently stolen from the e-mail account.

They have used Bristol Palin’s illegally obtained private cell phone number from her mom’s private account, recorded her voicemail message, and posted it on their website.

They have reprinted her husband Todd’s private e-mail address and son Track’s private e-mail address.

You think this is just a harmless prank? Those of you who have had to deal with break-ins and identity theft know exactly what a burdensome process it is to recover from crimes like this.

Gawker knowingly and deliberately published illegally obtained photos of the Palin children.

Where are the privacy absolutists now?

You think Palin Derangement Syndrome is bad now? These by-any-means-necessary lunatics are just warming up.

Let me repeat what I said about Nick Denton and his slime businesses in 2006. It’s every bit as relevant now. And I expect the same cowards who said nothing then to remain silent about the violations of the Palin family’s privacy now:

There is a time to be tolerant and there is a time to draw lines. If you don’t draw those lines, bullies will be emboldened. The smug Gawker smear machine is all about pushing those boundaries with the expectation that no one will push back. They project their own cynicism, recklessness with facts, intellectual laziness, and bad faith on everyone else. But outside of Manhattan and Los Angeles, not all of us think blogging is a for-profit enterprise founded solely to tear people down with gossip, rumor-mongering, and damaging lies disguised as “satire.” Funny how some of the loudest voices decrying the lack of civility in the blogosphere are the biggest promoters of the bottom-feeders and debasers at Gawker Media.

Bastards. Bastards all.

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More at ArtVoice and here.

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A reminder of another high-profile privacy breech against a Republican: The Democrats’ fraud and theft of Michael Steele’s credit reports.

DIRTY DEM TRICKSTER: GUILTY

Chuckaquiddick charges

Whitewashing Chuckaquiddick

Chuckaquiddick: Look who’s paying the tab

NY Times “looks into” Chuckaquiddick

Chuckaquiddick: Where’s the MSM?

The NYTimes ombudsman is totally worthless

Democrat dumpster diving

A despicable Democrat dirty trick

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Update: Wired News confirms one of the messages…

Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s private Yahoo e-mail account was hacked, and some of its contents posted on the internet Wednesday. The internet griefers known as Anonymous took credit for the intrusion, and screenshots of e-mail messages and photos belonging to the Alaska governor have been published by WikiLeaks. Threat Level has confirmed the authenticity of at least one of the e-mails. The cache of stolen data contains five screenshots from Palin’s account, including the text of an e-mail exchange with Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell about his campaign for Congress. Another screenshot shows Palin’s inbox and a third shows the text of an e-mail from Amy McCorkell, whom Palin appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in 2007. The e-mail, a message of support to Palin, tells her not to let negative press get to her and asks Palin to pray for McCorkell, who writes that “I need strength to 1. keep employment, 2. not have to choose.” The Republican Party hasn’t responded to a call for comment, but McCorkell, reached at her office, confirmed that she did send the e-mail to Palin.

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Update: The feds are investigating…

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.” ORDER IT NOW 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.

FYI: Alaska has very strong privacy laws.

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Commenter The Master: “Is the irony pretty ironic? Obama slams McCain for not using email and Palin’s gets hacked when she does.”

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Hitting back at Gawker.