Ex-staffer accused of doxing Senators due in court on Tuesday

The former Democratic Congressional staffer accused by police of publishing home addresses and phone numbers of Republican Senators during the nomination fight over Justice Brett Kavanaugh will go before a federal magistrate judge Tuesday afternoon in a Washington, D.C. federal court.

27 year-old Jackson Cosko has been held without bond since his arrest last Wednesday, with possible criminal charges related to unauthorized access to a government computer, identity theft, unlawful entry, second degree burglary, witness tampering, threats in interstate communications, and making public restrict personal information.

Cosko was fired last week by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX); he had been working in her office as a Congressional “fellow” – those arrangements allow people to work in a legislative office, but they are not paid by the member of Congress.

“I strongly condemn the individual’s indefensible and criminal behavior,” Jackson Lee said at a news conference last week in Texas.

Police allege that Cosko went to the office of Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) – where he once worked – and illegally accessed a computer there with another person’s login credentials.

In the affidavit filed with the court by the Capitol Police, authorities told a judge they have video evidence that Cosko was in the Senate office building which houses Hassan’s office last Wednesday, bolstering the claim of a employee on the Senator’s staff.

“Witness 2 reported that COSKO was a former staff member with Senator 7's office,” the affidavit states. “Witness 2 stated that COSKO'S employment with the Senator's office had ended several months ago – that is, that COSKO was asked to resign – and that COSKO did not have permission or authorization to be in the Senator's office on October 2, 2018.”

It’s not clear what outside group was paying Cosko for his Congressional fellowship; he described himself as a “Democratic Political Professional & Cybersecurity Graduate Student” on his LinkedIn account, which is no longer active.

WJAX