The Romanian hacker who claimed he was able to breach Hillary Clinton’s private server is set for sentencing Thursday morning, with prosecutors seeking a term of at least 48 months.
Marcel Lazar, known online as the original Guccifer, pleaded guilty this year to two charges related to his cyberattacks against notable American officials. Those included former secretary of state Colin Powell and Dorothy Bush Koch, a sister to former President George W. Bush.
Guccifer was extradited from a prison in Romania to Alexandria, Virginia earlier this year amid speculation that federal authorities were seeking to investigate what he knew about Clinton’s private email server.
The 44-year-old’s claim that he managed to hacked Clinton was ultimately never substantiated, though it was his work that contributed to the discovery of Clinton’s private clintonemail.com domain. The address came out after he managed to access an email account held by Sidney Blumenthal, a top Clinton aide.
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Guccifer said in previous interviews that his hacking feats were accomplished by reading biographies and personal information about his subjects, and then simply guessing their passwords based on details about their lives.
He had claimed to be storing information from Clinton’s server on a hidden cloud, but FBI Director James Comey stressed during a July hearing of the House Oversight Committee that he had been bluffing. “He admitted that was a lie,” Comey insisted.
Guccifer’s public defender has asked that he be sentenced to 36 months due to his cooperation with American authorities. He faces a maximum of 54 months, but must fulfill a 7-year sentence in Romania following his return.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of Guccifer’s sentencing. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
