Prosecutors signaled Tuesday that they might give the aide, Jackson Cosko, a plea deal that would prevent the facts of the case from ever being learned publicly.
During Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s September 2018 confirmation hearing, Cosko ‐ a former IT aide who once managed Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan’s office computer accounts ‐ allegedly posted to Wikipedia the home addresses of Republican senators who supported the Supreme Court justice.
"I own EVERYTHING," Cosko told a Hassan aide who caught him in the act, according to prosecutors. "If you tell anyone I will leak it all. Emails signal conversations gmails."
Information revealed in court since then suggested that might not have been a bluff. U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan on Jan. 24 said Cosko allegedly possessed terabytes of information, including Senate data so sensitive that it could not be discussed in open court.
"He downloaded more information than was originally understood. There is no combination of conditions that could ensure the safety of the community," Hogan said in December 2018.
Prosecutors underscored that he was a flight risk and that they had concerns he would engage in obstruction of justice.