Even in prison, former Sen. Smith maintains social networking

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports former Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, still in the beginning days of his one year, one day sentence for obstruction, is continuing his social networking behind bars:

Followers asked: Was it really him? If so, how is he Twittering in prison? Did he sneak in a smart phone?

Yes, it’s me, Smith Twittered this weekend, and here’s how he’s doing it. Smith is e-mailing his tweets to a former aide, Kailey Burger, and she is posting them on his account.

Federal prisoners do not have access to the World Wide Web, but some institutions do have limited access to e-mail.

According to the Bureau of Prisons, a program called TRULINCS — which is funded by inmate fees and profits from the commissary — allows prisoners to send and receive monitored messages from their approved contact list.

The story was broken initially by St. Louis Beacon.