Breaking News: State Dept. fires 2 for peeks into Obama's passport file

A State Department spokesman has just announced that two of its contract employees have been fired and a third reprimanded for hacking into the computer files of Sen. Barack Obama's passport.

The spokesman said the department's own security system had detected the breaches on Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and March 14. He said the workers were removed for "imprudent curiosity."

According to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the Obama campaign demanded a full investigation including motives and the reason for the delays in announcing the breaches.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Richard M. Nixon]

Sounds like nothing more than a third rate burglary.

[Barbara]

The problem is they didn't let Obama know until today and the first breach was January 9th. This campaign is getting treacherous. They obviously have very little dirt on him so they had to overplay the Wright thing and now we find out this.
And what was the reason we didn't know until now?

[Barbara]

Hey "Nixon", love your comment. How appropriate. Wow, the powers that be really don't want this guy in power, do they?

This would literally be the first grassroots candidate to make it to the top yet I fear what they will do to stop him.

[Sam Sam]

I bet if you look hard enough you'll find they had been in contact with members of the Clinton campaign.

[Spiro T. Agnew]

Dick, you're such a nattering nabob of negativity.

[Christi]

TERRIBLE - We need to know who did this snooping - and most importantly - who are they connected to?!!??

This is illegal. The same thing happened to Bill Clinton and it was outrageous then, and outrageous now.

[Nedly Mandingo]

Wow more politicians moving ahead more corrupt political agendas. Very happy to hear the same two partys will further erode our rights and freedoms.

Ron Paul where are you!

[A Non Name]

They (Bush Sr.) did the same to Bill Clinton when he campaigned for President. Like father like son.

[blackbox]

They took a long time to report the breach because the majority in our nation's foreign corp did not know who Obama was.................

[Liz Wetzel]

Why is it that everytime Barack do something stupid or someone do something stupid on Barack you blame it on Hillary? I am an American Citizen and if I have access to know where Barack travels to, I SHOULD KNOW. Hillary shares her records and Barack can hide? WHAT IS BARACK HIDING?
I want to know if a candidate meets with the enemy of America, after all , this guy's so called SPIRIT is guided by an Spiritual Adviser who HATES AMERICA.
If someone GD'd us Americans, I have to know who is this guy. And grassroots? You people are so naive, his contributors are the big companies.

[alex]

who are they connected to you ask? probably not Hill since this once happened to Bill. Must be some republican slime bag rat working for the mac.

[Dean Charles]

I belive Condis to blame, do not kid yourself she is digging furture dirt to hand over to her party and John Mc Cain.also if they have a black republican,dig up something on a black democrat it does not look as bad.Sorry I am starting to sound like Geraldine F.

[chaz]

Barack has enough problems with his minister, Al Sharpton
and the weather underground. Leave him alone.

[commonhuman]

Liz, can you name the big companies that have contributed to the Obama campaign and the amounts of those contributions? I really would like to know.

[Jim]

Who cares about his passport. Bill Clinton's passport was peeked into way back. Nothing big. Nobody made a fuss about the peeking. Why is this a breaking story. I wish Obama would take his Rev. Wright and disappear.

[tom]

Hillary had employees look into obama's passport files..3 times in 3 months and state department just informed obama and his lawyers..a few hours ago..2 Clinton employees were fired and 1 was disciplined

[Billy Bob Royal]

who are they connected to you ask? probably not Hill since this once happened to Bill. Must be some republican slime bag rat working for the mac.

Posted by: alex | March 20, 2008 at 07:17 PM

I beg to differ. Have you not heard that the Bushes and the Clintons vacation together and are both members of the CFR, and that the CFR is an offshoot from PNAC?

Its like this. The Clintons and the Bushes want to maintain a dynasty for nefarious purposes. "New World Order"

Hillary is -Bush Lite- for the Clin-Bushes

Of course "they" dont want this newcomer Obama coming in and ruining their "weapon-drug-war" cartel.

Just ask Bill about the Mena Arkansas airfield.

I will bet he turns redfaced and runs from you the same as he has done to me in the past.

Twice.

Just Google the words:

Bill Clinton Mena Arkansas Cocaine

Refreshing!

[Hussain Bux Thebo]

Same tactics of dirty politics. Let people know that those responsible of breaching the sanctity of privacy of presidential hopeful candidate through ciber crime of hacking, have done all this on their own curiosty or they are part of a wider game. A full and comprehensive investigation is demanded. Watergate episode was first thought as third rate act of thievery.

[Concerned Citizen]

Wait a minute, Obama wants Hillary to share EVERTYHING, then why is he so worried about "peeking".

What's really going on? Is it that he met with more than just the normal racists and bigots(wright and farrakwad)?

This should be investigated alright, and for the past 20 years worth!!

What does Obama want to HIDE?

[KYJurisDoctor]

Someone in present government is DEATHLY AFRAID of an Obama Presidency. Makes me want to vote for him just for that reason!

http://OsiSpeaks.com

[Dilsad]

Some group or individuals have been peeking into Sen. Obama's passport files. Wonder what they are looking. Maybe his activities so they can dig some dirt to show the american public who may disqualify him for his candidacy! Snooping three months in a row, is not a simple crime. State Department should investigate thoroghly to see who is responsible.

[Justice Able]

We ponder, why no one complains if their employer spies on them?

We ponder, why no one criticizes political pundits?

We ponder why the candidate who is truly "Grass Roots" as commented by his own political supporters does not voluntarily provide his passport information?

Is it because his passport photograph is not flattering?

He could also provide us with, a copy of his birth certificate, for everyone who is eligible to vote; can be sure he is eligible, for the Presidency?

Well the "State" terminated two employees. It is time to execute them.

We presume some of Candidate Barack Obama's supporters would like them prosecuted, under "The Patriot Act."

Can I use the bathroom please..............

[Key West Tom]

Could these records have been altered in any way?

[Fareed]

The Secret Service will get to the bottom of that intrusion as to who these operatives were. They may have been out for money trying to find something they thought they could sell to the scandal mongers. Or they were working for someone and were paid to look for specific information. Anyone who has ever had a Secret Security Clarence knows quite clearly where the boundary's are on the "Need to Know". They can expect a visit from the FBI if they haven't already. The authorities wanted to see where this was heading and who is involved. I'm sure this is not isolated, there are provocateurs out there that are being shadowed. By the way Liz Wetzel, if anyone wants to know anything about a Candidate there are legal ways to find out, not like what these armatures were doing. No sooner they were in the Data Base they did not have clearance for the alarms went off.

[Tony Angel]

Methinks that this is nothing more than ability being inappropriately applied by some lowly customs agents with a bit of spare time and curiosity.

Also I believe that Obama is far removed from being a grassroots contender, to me he is looking very much like Bush the next or Clinton the next, different name and face but same old elite.
There is something wrong in the good old USA, when the system let's an incompetent son of a former president become president, you have to seriously wonder about "the system".

[naperman]

How convenient. Obama is under fire for his association with Wright. So what to do? Create a diversion. Bush is spying on me! Obama's media lackeys are already running with the story. Well surprise, Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) is responsible for the department where this incident took place. Talk about an "inside job".

[Susan]

Liz Wetzel - Barack Obama made his tax returns public at the very beginning of her campaign; Hillary Clinton keeps promising "soon," but has yet to do so. A Republican Watch Dog group subpeonaed her for her phone records from her husband's presidency; she has refused to release them, as well as the logs of her daily actitivies for those 8 years in spite of her repeated claims that she has Presidential experience. Now she has to release the documents or things will get very ugly for her.

What's she hiding???

And now it's been reported that her campaign is deliberately keeping the Rev. Wright story on the front page while she holds back-door meetings to try and convince superdelegates that Sen. Obama's relationship with Pastor Wright is a liabiltiy for the party instead of actually engaging him fair-and-square on the issues; but the NY Times, Huffington Post and Politico just posted a telling picture of Bill Clinton with the good Reverend together - the former president invited the pastor to a "Spiritual Leaders Breakfast" where he finally admitted to the Lewinsky affair (a day before the Starr Report was released) and apparently there is video of Bill attending one of his sermons at the Trinity Church floating around somewhere too. As another commenter noted, if Rev. Wright was invited to the White House for any reason, they dug DEEP to make sure he was not the radical demogogue you claim him to be - and rest assured they conducted much more than a twenty-year background check (I bet they know how many and how tight the surgical stitches he sewed on former President Lyndon Johnson were as a medical corpsman). This man is fully vetted.

Educate yourself before you post; correct spelling, grammar and punctuation in your posts would be helpful, too.

It will be interesting to see how this passport security breach is handled; apparently (and no surprise), the Clintons are at least triangularly related; and so is Condoleeza Rice, as the breach is directly in her Department - which means Bush and or Cheney and or Rove aren't far behind.

[gravel kucinich paul nader]

Barack Obama FEAR SMEAR?

Barack Obama
STAND WITH
Ralph Nader
Ron Paul
Dennis Kucinich
Mike Gravel
NOT
DNC Hillary Clinton
RNC John McCain

Eyes wide open
Testify