Sharyl Attkisson Sues Government for Computer Hacking
Kate Scanlon /
Sharyl Attkisson is suing the U.S. Department of Justice for illegal surveillance.
“The question is, will anybody ever be held responsible?” says @SharylAttkisson
Attkisson, a senior independent contributor to The Daily Signal, alleges that she was the victim of a computer hack while covering Obama administration scandals in her previous job at CBS News.
In the lawsuit, Attkisson and her legal team say three different forensic exams on her computers revealed that she was being monitored by hackers from 2011 to 2013. They are confident that the hacks were “connected” to the Justice Department.
“I just think it’s important to send a message that people shouldn’t be victimized and throw up their hands and think there’s nothing they can do and they’re powerless,” Attkisson told Fox News.
Attkisson is seeking $35 million in damages.
According to Fox News, the lawsuit, filed in Washington, alleges that hackers “installed and periodically refreshed software to steal data and obtain passwords on her home and work computers. She also charges that the hackers monitored her audio using a Skype account.”
>>> Sharyl Attkisson Releases Chilling Video of Mysterious Deletions on Her Computer
In 2013, the Justice Department released a statement saying it had “never compromised Ms. Attkisson’s computers, or otherwise sought any information from or concerning any telephone, computer, or other media device she may own or use.”
Attkisson disputes that statement.
“The Justice Department has not been very forthcoming with questions,” Attkisson told Fox News. “The question is, will anybody ever be held responsible?”
Attkisson told Fox News that she discovered the FBI had opened an investigation of her case after she filed a Freedom of Information Act request. She said the FBI never interviewed her or alerted her about the investigation.
In October, Attkisson released video of an alleged hack, where information mysteriously vanished from her computer.