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'Guccifer' pleads guilty to hacking emails of Clinton, ex-presidents

By Ed Adamczyk
Former Secretary of State was among those targeted by an email hacker known as "Guccifer." File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
1 of 3 | Former Secretary of State was among those targeted by an email hacker known as "Guccifer." File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 25 (UPI) -- Marcel Lehel Lazar, known as "Guccifer," a hacker specializing in breaking into the email accounts of celebrities, pleaded guilty to two counts Wednesday.

Lazar entered guilty pleas in an Alexandria, Va., court to reduced charges of identity theft and unauthorized access to protected computers. Prosecutors said Lazar, 44, a Romanian citizen, broke into email and social media accounts of about 100 Americans, including those of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and their families. Lazar has said he also broke into the email server of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

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His capture of emails of Sidney Blumenthal, a former adviser to Clinton, revealed she used a private email address, which led to an FBI investigation. A State Department audit, announced Wednesday, indicated Clinton contravened federal rules by using a private email server.

Lazar will be held until his sentencing in September, and could receive seven years in prison. He was brought to the United States for prosecution on federal charges after serving time in a Romanian prison. His nickname, he has said, combines "the style of Gucci and the light of Lucifer."

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