Federal investigators are racing to unmask the anonymous hacker who accessed a series of intimate family emails and photos sent between former President George W. Bush, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and dozens of other members of the Bush clan.
The disturbing invasion of privacy includes such details as the Bush family mulling the possible death of George H.W. Bush, who was critically ill last year, and an aide discussing the readiness of the former president’s “funeral team.’’
The breach, detailed on TheSmokingGun.com, is "under criminal investigation," Bush spokesman Jim McGrath told The Houston Chronicle.
The Smoking Gun reported that the mystery hacker, who calls himself "Guccifer," stole online correspondence sent between 2009 and 2012, through George H.W. Bush’s recent hospitalization.
The material — uploaded to a hacked online account — includes home addresses, phone numbers and emails of “dozens of Bush family members, including both former presidents, their siblings, and their children,’’ The
Smoking Gun said.
Among the email accounts hacked include that of Dorothy Bush Koch, daughter of George H.W. Bush and sister of George W. Bush; CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz, a family friend; former First Lady Barbara Bush’s brother; and George H.W. Bush’s sister-in-law.
Nantz’s emails speak of playing golf and visiting the Bush compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, The Smoking Gun reports. One includes George W. Bush’s street address as well as a four-digit code to access a security gate.
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Another email, sent to a Bush family friend from Fox News political analyst Brit Hume after the 2012 presidential race, quotes Hume saying: “Election outcome disappointing, but there are many silver linings.’’
The Smoking Gun says emails on Dorothy Bush’s AOL account note the shaky health of her father late last year and include specific details of the 41st president’s illness and prognosis.
In one, Jeb Bush speaks of his dad’s “kindness and good nature,” and that he “helped restore [Bill Clinton’s] ... reputation. A very tough thing to do but with kindness, dad probably helped Bill Clinton than anything he himself has done.”
The emails reveal George H.W. Bush was so sick his former chief of staff noted: “your dad’s funeral team is having an emergency meeting at 10 a.m. just to go through all the details.”
The aide says the information falls under the list of things “NOT TO TELL YOUR MOTHER,” referring to Barbara Bush, according to The Smoking Gun.
Photos hacked include one of the older Bush lying in his hospital bed; one of him with Bill Clinton at the Bush compound in Maine; and one of him posing next to a cardboard cutout with his face attached to it.
Another shows paintings that George W. Bush was working on, including self-portraits of him taking a shower and sitting in a bathtub.
“Why would someone do this?’’ Dorothy Bush asked when reached for comment by The Smoking Gun.
In a note contained in the hacked material, the hacker boasts that federal authorities have been investigating him for “a long time.’’ But he doesn’t appear worried.
“This is just another chapter in the game,’’ the hacker taunts.
"The Secret Service is investigating this matter," Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told ABC News.
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