The Romanian, who has been accused of breaking into computer accounts of the Bush family, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and others, has pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer and one count of aggravated identity theft, reports ABC News.
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According to Lazar’s plea agreement, he faces at least two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge and as many as five years more for unauthorized access to a protected computer.
The records do not specify which charges Lazar will plead to.
Guccifer became infamous after a 2013 hack revealed self-portraits painted by former President George W. Bush, as well as private correspondence and information on the Bush family. Lazar also claimed earlier this month to have hacked into presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s private email server, but that claim is unconfirmed.
In U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., Lazar, in a green jail jumpsuit, said little, offering only short confirmations that he was pleading guilty voluntarily and that he knew the rights he was giving up.
However, Lazar was able to hack an account used by Sidney Blumenthal, a former Clinton White House aide and unofficial adviser to Clinton.
In June 2014, Lazar was sentenced to a term of four years’ imprisonment for those crimes plus three years for his prior offenses for a total of seven years.
The website The Smoking Gun published some of the hacked photos, including pictures of paintings by George W. Bush, and a photo of George H.W. Bush in the hospital. “Mr. Lazar violated the privacy of his victims and thought he could hide behind the anonymity of the Internet”, Dana J. Boente, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement at the time of his extradition.
Lazar is scheduled to appear at 10 a.m. on September 1, 2016 for sentencing and remains in custody as a flight risk.
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Lazar’s defense lawyer and federal prosecutors could not be reached for immediate comment on whether the change of plea means he has struck a cooperation deal with the government.
