New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez's former campaign manager pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts in a case that accused him of intercepting her email, according to The Associated Press.
As part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, Jamie Estrada, 41, agreed to plead guilty to one count of unlawful interception of electronic communication and one count of lying to FBI agents, the AP reported. Estrada briefly served as campaign manager in 2009 as Martinez, a Republican, was starting her bid for New Mexico governor.
Estrada previously pleaded not guilty to charges of intercepting email in the campaign account and making false statements to federal investigators, according to the AP. He had faced a dozen felony charges of intercepting email and four charges of making false statements to federal agents during their investigation.
"When an individual sends out an email, that individual has a right to expect that email will remain private," U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez said after the agreement was announced, though he would not say if more indictments would come down in the case, the AP reported.
An FBI affidavit in the case says Estrada was fired, but Estrada says he left the campaign to run for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission, according to the AP.
Prosecutors alleged that Estrada used password and username information to change the computer account for the governor's 2010 campaign organization after Martinez took office as governor, the AP reported. Electronic messages sent through the campaign email system by Martinez and her aides were directed to a computer account controlled by Estrada, according to the indictment.
Martinez said the email thefts were part of a "revenge scheme" after Estrada wasn't given a state job, according to the AP.
The governor's office asked for a federal investigation of possible hacking after emails were leaked by Martinez critics, the AP reported. Some of the messages showed Martinez and top aides used private email accounts to discuss government business.
