Washington Times: Obama passport files violated; 2 State Department workers fired

[Duckus]

(Updated with Washington Times article farther down)

As many know, Drudge is famous for breaking news as well as making up news (from time to time). He is a conservative who somehow gets enormous scoops - not sure if this is one of them, or if this is nothing. There is no story yet and no details but his website has an enormous headline saying this:

OBAMA'S PASSPORT DATA BREACHED; STATE DEPT INVESTIGATION, 2 FIRED

DIRTY TRICKS FEARS AFTER STATE DEPT FIRES TWO FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO BARACK OBAMA'S PERSONAL PASSPORT FILE... MORE...

http://www.drudgereport.com/

Be interesting to see what this is all about. I can't even figure out what the quotes mean. Its like a code.

Anyone got any idea? :laugh:

[Duckus]

He says Washington Times has the story.....

"WASHINGTON TIMES SET TO SPLASH THE DEVELOPMENT, NEWSROOM SOURCES TELL DRUDGE REPORT... MORE..."

Still confused about all of this. Why would anyone want that information? I can't imagine their could be any use to having passport information. If one is looking for something, why there? Makes no sense.....very confused.

[Duckus]

Update - here is the article from Washington Times:

Two State Department employees were fired recently and a third disciplined for improperly accessing electronic personal data on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, Bush administration officials said yesterday.

Link for full story: http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080320/NATION/541139809/1001

[Hooper]

Shady stuff.

[Hooper]

And the media moves on from the Wright controversy.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Kinda ****ed that they are now just telling him, 2 1/2 months after the fact (of the first breach)

[Duckus]

And the media moves on from the Wright controversy.

Maybe...but not yet.

Drudge also seems to have a story coming on that as well. He has a picture of Bill Clinton and Wright together. Not sure what the story will be, but Drudge LOVES stuff like that.

Reading the article this breach very well could be nothing, clearly more details need to be released for us to know for sure.

[33]

Okay, a couple things.

Why wouldn't this be a prosecutable offense? I think anything that gets you dismissed by the Federal Govt for impropriety should be some sort of offense punishable by at least a fine. :2cents:

The article almost makes it seem like it was three isolated events. I'm confused to that.

It could have been as simple and meaningless as some ladies hoping to get a glimpse of his passport photo.

[Duckus]

Okay, a couple things.

Why wouldn't this be a prosecutable offense? I think anything that gets you dismissed by the Federal Govt for impropriety should be some sort of offense punishable by at least a fine. :2cents:

The article almost makes it seem like it was three isolated events. I'm confused to that.

It could have been as simple and meaningless as some ladies hoping to get a glimpse of his passport photo.

Agreed on this possibly being nothing.

The #1 question I have is - if this were to be political, what could you want to get from a passport that even could be used? That is what makes me feel this is nothing that important.

[Larry]

They're still looking for a link between Hussein and Al Qaeda. :)

(Thought just occurred to me: I wonder if Obama's on any "no fly" lists.)

[Thanos]

This is pathetic.This is someshady stuff here,and he just finds out!!!!?????

[TuckahoeSkin]

With it being State Department employees, it is entirely possible that they are not conservatives. I wonder if they were Hitlery supporters? Seriously. :whoknows:

[heyholetsgogrant]

With it being State Department employees, it is entirely possible that they are not conservatives. I wonder if they were Hitlery supporters? Seriously. :whoknows:


Yes, in fact most of the liberal message boards are saying it was probably Hillary supporters.

-Grant

[zoony]

This is pathetic.This is someshady stuff here,and he just finds out!!!!?????


it would only qualify as pathetic and shady if they were never caught and it was never news

[HSW]

It was shady and there should be an investigation. I base this on the
fact that this event happened over 2 months ago and State is saying
that Senior Mgt just found out about it a day or so ago. Eithor they
knew and did not make a disclosure which is probably a Privacy Act
crime or they really did not know which would mean that someone
hid it from them and should be prosecuted ( I am not talking about
the 3 flunkies eithor). Investigation should focus on who knew what
and when and did they report it as required.

[sacase]

This is probably nothing more than employees wanting to take a peek at the information on his passport. It is not the kind of thing that would be noticed and probably was only noticed because of who he is. Is this a crime, no. Is it unethical, yes.

However, Obama has really been starting to turn me off and for him to blame this on the Bush Administration is just plain stupid.

[Thanos]

it would only qualify as pathetic and shady if they were never caught and it was never news

Too many instances to be considered inciedental in my opinion.But its amazing how this is dismissed in some media quarters.

[flashback]

However, Obama has really been starting to turn me off and for him to blame this on the Bush Administration is just plain stupid.
Link? Did he say "It's the Bush Administration's fault." in an interview or something?

[zoony]

Too many instances to be considered inciedental in my opinion.But its amazing how this is dismissed in some media quarters.


It was front page on all the major outlets yesterday, and big news on all the media outlets this morning (I didn't watch them last night)

One thing is certain, the Clintons are desperate.

...

[Buford]

Well, if the admin retro-declassifies this info in a Plame style. Then I'll consider those folks who looked at his info as "Patriots".

;)

[#98QBKiller]

Update:


Rice apologizes to Obama for passport snooping




http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/21/obama.passport/index.html







(CNN) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday said she apologized to Sen. Barack Obama for the unauthorized viewing of his passport file by contractor working for the State Department.

Two contractors were fired and a third was disciplined after they accessed the Democratic presidential candidates file, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.

"I told him I was sorry and I told him that I myself would be very disturbed in anyone had looked at my passport filed and that, therefore, I will stay on top of this," Rice said.

"We are going to do an investigation through the inspector general," she said. "None of us want us to have a situation where any American's passport file is accessed in an unauthorized way."

Rice said "it appears that the system worked" because the unathorized viewing was flagged, but "it should have been known to senior management."

State Department officials say Rice was told Thursday what happened and that she told her staff she wanted a full investigation.

The department hires contractors to design, build and maintain their systems and help employees with searches. McCormack said two of the contractors in the Obama case were "low-level" personnel and the other was in a mid-level position with no management role.

The breach seems like "imprudent curiosity" among the contract workers, said McCormack, adding that senior management at the State Department was not aware of the incidents until Thursday afternoon. Breaches occurred January 9, February 21 and March 14.

A State Department source said passport files contain scanned images of passport applications, birth date and basic biographical information, records of passport renewal and possibly citizenship information.

Obama (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/barack.obama.html)'s campaign is asking for a complete investigation to find out who looked at his passport file and why.

"This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton in a statement.

"Our government's duty is to protect the private information of the American people, not use it for political purposes."

Doug Hattaway, a spokesman for Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, said, "If it's true, it's reprehensible, and the Bush administration has a responsibility to get to the bottom of it."

The White House declined comment Thursday evening, just hours after the State Department upper management learned of the breach.

The department would not speculate whether the information had been shared with anyone else.http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/tabs/video.gifWatch Anderson Cooper discuss the controversy » (http://cnn.site.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Rice+apologizes+to+Obama+for+passport+snoopi ng+-+CNN.com&expire=-1&urlID=27318875&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2008%2FPOLITICS%2F0 3%2F21%2Fobama.passport%2Findex.html&part#cnnSTCVideo)

"That obviously is something we are investigating," said Under Secretary of State Pat Kennedy. "I have no reason to believe they did, but I certainly am not going to be dismissive of what is a serious and valid question."

Kennedy said he will brief Obama's senior staff on Friday.

Before contractors are hired, the department runs "public integrity checks," which are standard police and name checks for people who will be handling "sensitive but nonclassified information," Kennedy said.

The background checks do not include inquiries into political affiliations, Kennedy said, saying that would be "inappropriate."

A computer-monitoring system, triggered when employees access the file of a high-profile person, caught the employees, McCormack said, emphasizing that the department's system "worked."

However, despite the trigger, senior department officials only learned of the incident Thursday afternoon, after a reporter e-mailed McCormack with a question.

"It was dealt with at the office level where the incidents occurred by the office-level supervisors, who took immediate steps when they saw this," Kennedy said.

"I will admit, they failed to pass the information up the chain to a sufficiently high level." Department officials say that after Rice was told Thursday what happened, she told her staff she wanted a full investigation.

The department would not speculate on whether the information had been shared with anyone else.

"That obviously is something we are investigating," Kennedy said. "I have no reason to believe they did, but I certainly am not going to be dismissive of what is a serious and valid question."

The news was reminiscent of a breach of Bill Clinton's passport information during the 1992 presidential campaign. The FBI launched an investigation after the State Department reported that someone had ripped out pages from his passport file from the late 1960s and '70s.

[JMS]

Update... It wasn't just Obama but they also checked out hillary and john mcain's files.


Abc News
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4492773&page=1

[zoony]

Update... It wasn't just Obama but they also checked out hillary and john mcain's files.


Abc News
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4492773&page=1



This sounds like it might get interesting :munchout:

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Now they are saying that all three of them had their passports violated. On one hand, it makes it look like no one was targetting Obama, specifically. On the other hand, it makes it look like someone in the administration was trying to dig up dirt on all three.

[Air Force Cane]

The thread title is misleading and should be changed now since all three candidates had their passport info tampered with.

There is simply NO WAY three private contractors working at State were all Republicans- they are Hillary people without a doubt. Notice how Hillary's own campaign started talking about Obambi's passport issues a MONTH ago.

must have been just a strange coincidence though..

and the fact that the ones fired were looking at Obama and McCain's info is also just a chance occurrence.

[Air Force Cane]

Now they are saying that all three of them had their passports violated. On one hand, it makes it look like no one was targetting Obama, specifically. On the other hand, it makes it look like someone in the administration was trying to dig up dirt on all three.

Ah, another genius about how the government works!!

Have you ever worked at the Department of State?!! Because I actually have worked there.

And if you think three low level PRIVATE CONTRACTORS who deal with the passport office are working on behalf of the "Administration" you are truly an idiot.

[sacase]

Now they are saying that all three of them had their passports violated. On one hand, it makes it look like no one was targetting Obama, specifically. On the other hand, it makes it look like someone in the administration was trying to dig up dirt on all three.

If the Administration wanted to check the files then all they had to do was have Condi look at them and no one would have been the wiser. They are not going to have some low level contractors look at the information. People got curious and put their nose where it didn't belong. They violated admin policies, nothing criminal happend. There was no "security breach" as the obama campaign claimed. The people had the authority to search the database for legitimate reasons, they just used those privledges in an illegitimate way.

[Larry]

Ah, another genius about how the government works!!

Have you ever worked at the Department of State?!! Because I actually have worked there.

And if you think three low level PRIVATE CONTRACTORS who deal with the passport office are working on behalf of the "Administration" you are truly an idiot.

Yeah, you idiot! Don't you know that every single employee, and every contractor employee of the State Department are all pinko commie liberals? Don't you know that there aren't three people in the entire bureaucracy that aren't Hillary supporters? That there aren't three people in the entire agency, including all of the companies that they employ, who have even voted Republican, even once?

(Well, there actually used to be one Republican partisan working there, as part of a GOP infiltration team. But somebody leaked. Team was wiped out. But rumor has it there may have been a survivor. :paranoid: )

[Larry]

Sounds like someone just got curious and did it simply because they could. Probably checked out J-Lo and John Travolta also.

Well, if they did, then there's nothing to worry about.

The Scientologists have probably already "disappeared" them, by now.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

The thread title is misleading
How so?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Ah, another genius about how the government works!!

Have you ever worked at the Department of State?!! Because I actually have worked there.

And if you think three low level PRIVATE CONTRACTORS who deal with the passport office are working on behalf of the "Administration" you are truly an idiot.

AFC, what is wrong with you? Seriously, why in every post that you make are you attacking the poster - me or someone else you disagree with - and trying to start a fight.

Stop being a jerk.

[Thanos]

AFC, what is wrong with you? Seriously, why in every post that you make are you attacking the poster - me or someone else you disagree with - and trying to start a fight.

Stop being a jerk.

I like AFC.

[Buford]

Shocker...AFC worked at the State Dept......and we currently have a Gov't thats best skill is tripping over their own feet into everything.

Says a lot.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

AFC, what is wrong with you? Seriously, why in every post that you make are you attacking the poster - me or someone else you disagree with - and trying to start a fight.

Stop being a jerk.
It makes him feel like a man.

[Predicto]

So, this turns out to be a non-story. Good.

It makes sense that Obama's people would have had the initial reaction that they did, given the way that the story first came out.

Let's move on.