A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a 27 year-old former Democratic Congressional employee to remain in jail, as Jackson Cosko pleaded not guilty to charges that he published the addresses and phone numbers of a Republican Senator during the recent debate over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In an appearance before a federal magistrate judge, Cosko pleaded not guilty to seven different counts, including making public the personal information of Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).
The indictment also spelled out other charges against Cosko, alleging that he illegally accessed a computer in the office of Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) - where he was once an intern - and that he threatened an employee of that office who discovered him there.
At the Tuesday afternoon hearing, Judge Deborah Robinson refused to release Cosko; a date for a future status hearing on his case was not immediately set.
In a ten page document asking that Cosko be kept in custody, federal prosecutors said a search of Cosko's apartment found evidence that he planned to dox other lawmakers.
"Moreover, there is evidence that the defendant may possess, or have control over, as-yet unidentified information belong to Members of the United States Congress - and that the defendant may use or unlawfully release that information," one document stated, as the feds described Cosko as a 'flight risk.'
Prosecutors also released photos taken by police during the search of his apartment - one shows a crumpled piece of yellow note paper in which Cosko had seemingly scrawled, "contest of who to dox next."
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
And there was more.
"United States Capitol Police officers found, sitting openly on a counter in the defendant’s apartment, a tray with a small pile of white powder that field-tested positive for cocaine, along with paraphernalia," the judge was told.
The feds said the threat posed by Cosko had caused the Capitol Police to devote many more resources to protecting Senators.
"In the last week, the risk created by these doxxing offenses required the Capitol Police to make additional security details available to victim Senators, their families, and staffers, as a result of the defendant’s actions – and at significant costs to taxpayers," prosecutors stated.
If found guilty on all of the charges, Cosko could face over 48 years in prison.
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