Marcel Lazar pleaded guilty May 25 to hacking email and social media accounts of approximately 100 U.S. citizens. | POLITICO Screen grab 'Guccifer' gets 52 months in prison for hacking Bush family, others

A federal judge today sentenced a Romanian hacker to 52 months in prison for hacking members of the Bush family, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and more than 100 other Americans.

Marcel Lazar, who called himself "Guccifer," was convicted of unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft. He also faces a seven-year sentence in Romania that he must serve before beginning his sentence in the U.S., CBS News reported.


Lazar pleaded guilty May 25 to hacking email and social media accounts of approximately 100 U.S. citizens. Among other things, the information he stole revealed that former President George W. Bush had taken up painting and included images of self-portraits showing the ex-president in the shower and bathtub. He also claimed to have stolen information about one of former President George H.W. Bush’s hospital stays, The Smoking Gun reported in 2013.

The Justice Department said his victims included "an immediate family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former member of the U.S. Cabinet, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor."

Powell was forced to deny having an affair after Lazar released emails between him and a Romanian diplomat.

Lazar also claimed to have hacked Hillary Clinton's private email server, but FBI Director James Comey said Lazar subsequently admitted he was lying.

Lazar did, however, hack into Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal’s email account. His publication of Blumenthal’s emails revealed Clinton’s use of a private email account, which continues to dog her on the presidential campaign trail.

Lazar does not have any apparent connection to "Guccifer 2.0," an alleged hacker who has taken credit for recent hacks targeting the Democratic Party. Cybersecurity experts have concluded that Guccifer 2.0 is linked to Russian intelligence agencies.