Under the Radar Blog Archives Select Date… August, 2020 July, 2020 June, 2020 May, 2020 April, 2020 March, 2020 February, 2020 January, 2020 December, 2019 November, 2019 October, 2019 September, 2019

Former Reuters social media editor Matthew Keys (L) leaves court in 2013. | Getty Journalist facing jail over hacking seeks reprieve from Obama

A California-based journalist facing a two-year prison term after being convicted in a hacking case is asking President Barack Obama to step in with a last-minute reprieve.

Matthew Keys, 29, has been ordered to report to a federal prison camp in Atwater, California, at noon Thursday to begin serving his sentence for posting login credentials for a Tribune Co. publishing system in an online forum used by members of the hacking group Anonymous.

At a trial last fall in federal court in Sacramento, a jury convicted Keys of three felony counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act over the episode, which led to a news story on the Los Angeles Times website being briefly defaced.

In a five-page letter sent Tuesday to White House Counsel Neil Eggleston, Keys argues that federal statute is being misapplied to relatively innocuous hacking episodes and that a sentence of two years in prison over such an event is wildly excessive.

"Although I do not understand the nuances of law, I am aware that at this point only presidential intervention in the form of a commutation of sentence or a presidential pardon can prevent the execution of this draconian sentence," Keys wrote.

"Therefore, I respectfully request your assistance in advocating on my behalf for President Obama to review my case and consider using any and all executive powers afforded to him in preventing my scheduled incarceration and any other provision of the sentence for his he feels is unjustified and unwarranted. Doing so would not only reverse what many consider to be an unwarranted sentence triggered by an overzealous prosecutor based on a draconian and outdated law, it will allow me to continue serving the public as a journalist," the former Reuters deputy social media editor added.

In addition to pointing out discrepancies in sentences in hacking cases, Keys also asks Eggleston to encourage Obama to press for reforms to the CFAA.

Keys has maintained his innocence throughout and has repeatedly asserted that he is be persecuted because of his reporting. Prosecutors have painted such statements as acts of defiance and as reflecting Keys' refusal to take responsibility for his actions.

In the letter, Keys refers to prosecutors allegations that he facilitated the 40-minute defacement of the Los Angeles Times story. He does not address claims prosecutors highlighted at trial that he took a viewer email list from the Tribune-owned Fox TV affiliate where he worked and sent unauthorized messages that confused and troubled some recipients.

Some of Keys' allies and advocates of CFAA reform have also mounted their own drive to pepper the White House with requests to spare Keys from prison.

Under Justice Department guidelines, no application for clemency from Keys would be processed until the appeal of his conviction is complete. However, the president is free to ignore those regulations and act at any time to shorten or lift Keys' sentence.

A White House spokeswoman had no immediate comment on Keys' letter.

Hadas Gold contributed to this post.

