Tuesday, June 4, 2013

An "Unrelated Investigation"

A search warrant for computers belonging to child-pornography suspect and former Democratic political consultant  Jason Loera of Albuquerque shows that before FBI agents searched Loera's computers for kiddie porn,  those computers already were in federal custody in connection with another case.

Is that other case the one that involves the alleged hijacking of emails from Gov. Susana Martinez's campaign accounts?

On  page 9 of the search warrant application below, Special Agent Aaron Cravens wrote that on Nov. 20, the FBI executed a search warrant signed by a judge the day before at Loera's Albuquerque home "in connection with an unrelated investigation ..." Agents seized computers and other devices including several CD-Rs from the house.

A subsequent examination of the discs showed pornographic images and videos of children believed to between the ages of six and 12.

These images were not within the scope of the "unrelated investigation" Cravens mentioned.

That initial search warrant still is sealed, the U.S. Attorney's Office told me a few minutes ago -- though it might be unsealed in the very near future.

But last night Albuquerque freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr posted on Twitter a photo of one page purported to be from that original search warrant affidavit. If the photo is what it claims to be, then agents were looking for documents  related to the "Susana2010" domain; any communications with GoDaddy.com and DomainsByProxy.com; and the "SusanaPAC.com" domain.

Last week former Martinez campaign manager Jamie Estrada was indicted on charges of intercepting email from Susana2010 accounts. The domain name originally was purchased from GoDaddy.com.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said she can't confirm at this time whether the first search warrant is connected with the email investigation. Below are the child-porn warrant as well as St. Cyr's photo.