The big story over night was that three State Department contractors took an inappropriate peek at Barack Obama’s passport file. Officials apologized, fired the contractors in question, and announced that an investigation would be forthcoming.
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But this afternoon we learned that the State Department’s problem is an even bigger mess.
Just hours after firing two contract employees and disciplining a third for inappropriately examining the passport file of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that her passport file was also breached in 2007.
NBC News also learned Friday that Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, had his file breached — this time by one of the same individuals who had examined Obama’s records.
If one is inclined to believe the innocuous explanation — a handful of contractors were motivated by “imprudent curiosity” — the news about Clinton and McCain doesn’t change anything. Some staffers wondered about several high-profile figures, so they took a peek. It need not have been related to the campaign at all.
If one is inclined to believe a more sinister explanation, today’s news doesn’t help. That State Department staffers sought out confidential information about the major presidential candidates starts to look more like opposition research, and less like innocent prying. Given the Bush administration’s history of politicizing non-partisan government agencies, including the State Department, there’s no reason to extend the benefit of the doubt.
John Amato: And Condi certainly never seems to get much info does she? “Not to my knowledge.“
Filed Under: Barack Obama, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, John McCain
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With Condilesbian Rice on the case we can all rest easy…
Hey Condi! What do you do exactly? Fly around the world in designer suits doing absolutely nothing? Maybe you should resign. Oh wait, Bush rewards incompetence!
Why was the two people who looked at Barak’s file fired?
Why did Bill Clinton endorse McCain over Obama? Isn’t this the third time the Clintons have endorsed Obama?
The people deserve answers!
Sounds like another version of “show me yours and I will show you mine”
Sorry, endorsed McCain
I don’t know why everyone is so surprised . . . this type of inappropriate behavior is typical of the Bush Administration.
Just think of how many phone calls have been listened in on and how many emails have been read and how many medical records have been looked into and how many files have been searched and then maybe this country will get some clue as to how corrupt this administration is.
Who are the people who got fired? Are they polical hacks? If you beleive the news, they were just curious minions. Yeah! Like I believe that! What the hell?
But she said shes sorry,, really really sorry!
I bet for taking the job she has now and being unable to ever rebuild her rep.
McCain’s ‘Passport Breach’ Reveals Strange Travel Requests
Hmmmm.
Well, it appears the administration has no choice. They must make such activities legal.
Perhaps even retroactively so.
It’s what they do best.
Another APTHETIC example of the BUSHIES minimising contempitable… potentially illegal acts carried out by underlings (or third-party contractors) who disappear into oblivion only to protect THE REAL CULPRITS, who were probably acting from some office inside the White House.
I guess this is outsourcing Bush style.
What’s in a passport file anyhow?
P.D. @ 8:
Agreed, and Condiliar saying first thing out of the box (like Clinton supporter Larry Johnson) that it was just a case of “curiosity” is giving the verdict before the investigation has taken place. The whole thing stinks and I hope it will not be whitewashed now that the two other candidates were brought into it. “Oh well, see, it happens to everyone!”
The contractor doing the passports , Stanley Inc., is a GOP supporter. We can look forward to this company getting retroactive immunity for their criminal activities.
Condomliza was quick to point out that the illegal search was by an equal opportunity sleuth, the better to make it seem that the breach was non-partisan. Give me a break! I can just see a Rove or a Cheney telling the plumber to be sure and dip into John McPain’s file, too, so it wouldn’t look like a dirty trick on Obama or Clinton alone. This smacks of the 1960’s and Watergate. No wonder a bunch of high school students were arrested today for war protests on Spring Break!
The job for the appropriate oversight committee is clearly set out: Get the names of the perps and subpoena them. Ask them who told them to dip into the records. Get the FBI onto background checks based upon State Department personnel records. See what motivated these goons and who put them up to it. This may be the biggest story…or not. Inquiring minds want to know.
Not one thing is working on this site…
except maaaaybe this comment box…
CD @ 14:
What countries you’ve visited and, in this unconstitutional age, the people you met, &c. The State Department has ways of tracking your every move while you’re abroad. Franz Kafka, where are you now that we need you?
“Spy first and apologize later” _ Condi
The story was that Obama’s files were breached three times over three months, each time preceeding a significant event in this campaign. Hillary’s breach was last summer, way before any real contest, if this is true. Not sure about McCain. How do we know that the statement that Hillary and McCain’s files were breached is not just a smoke screen to deflect from what happened to Obama. It seems that the Obama breach is the suspecious breach. Claiming the other files were breached could be a ploy to detract. Three different people, three different times sounds like someone was really looking for something. No investigation sounds bad too. I know these people are totally incompetent, but we can’t forget that they are crooked too.
The sad thing is, everytime we say to ourselves,”This is it. We might be able to do something about this Adminasration.” It crashes and burns. Our politcal leaders don’t have the balls.
Mug @ 18:
Yea, these videos are loading very slow.
…needs to be bitched slapped…
P.D. @ 8:
They worked for a contractor. The contracting company was just named on tv. Sorry I don’t remember what it was. The contracting company, according to the tv, was originally hired to print passports during the time when the state dept was so far behind when that new law took effect requiring us to get passports when we went to Mexico and Canada or wherever it was.
My question is were security checks done on these people who would have the ability to get into these files?
Condi’s apology was directed at Bush and the GOP….for getting caught.
*sigh*
I guess this is still Hillary’s fault SOME how.
Jesus, The incompetence is so wide spread! The Bush Adminastration pretty much crapped on everything the got their hands on. What a mess!
Filthy republicans bitch about government not working, and we should point to people like Rice as the reason why.
CONTRACTORS having access to confidential information? Not once, but three different times?
This is how the crud in that party routinely operates. Stinking liars, all of them.
I’m not even convinced that Grampa’s files were looked at. Since he’s part of their inner circle, perhaps they felt the public would swallow this story if Grampa were included (wink, wink).
I don’t believe anything that comes from this filthy republican government.
I ask you, what exactly has Condoleeza done during her tenure? I can’t think of anything. Can you? Squat. Nothin’. (Maybe she’s bought a lot of bags-n-boots, but… )
Finally snooping on real terrorists.
“The United States of America values everyone’s privacy and corrective action should be taken”.
John McBraindead
Right John. You even believe your own lies now eh?
Sheesh beam me up scotty.
Edwin Hussein (not a scary black Reverend) @ 30:
She did Bush, and it pissed Pickles off.
[[[3 Mister Anderson Says]]]: Why was the two people who looked at Barak’s file fired?
Why did Bill Clinton endorse McCain over Obama? Isn’t this the third time the Clintons have endorsed Obama?
The people deserve answers!
====>>But not for Iraq, the $9 trillion debt, illegal NSA spying, torture… etc., etc., etc.. Is that what your beef is? Did Clinton endorse McCain?
Geez, the list is so exhaustive, no one can bear to type it all out again and again and again for you wingnuts. Open your eyes, read something other than cereal boxes (on the crapper).
the most telling slip up in the story that i can see it, if these lower ranking employees weere merely “curious” all well and good. i find it highly unlikly that an employees curiosity wouldn’t target onto a person’s own boss/manager, in this case cindi rice herself. the fact that *none* of the employees in question who had roaming eyes were tempted by condi’s right off the bat indicates to me they weren’t just acting as innocent curious employees but that they had a targeted more sinister motive.
Wow, I’m about to sound like a total conspiracy theorist, but…
How convenient that it turns out Hillary and McCain’s passports were breached too. I wouldn’t be surprised if they expanded the scandal on purpose, just so it wouldn’t look like more illegal Republican tactics. Better to have it look like a bout of major incompetence than specifically targeted at someone or a group ala Watergate. If this was in 2007 why didn’t they also look at Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani or John Edwards’ passports? If I recall, all three were considered to have a chance at the nomination in 2007…
Ed @ 31:
LOL!!!!
Good One!!!!
Well, if someone is actually getting caught and fired for spying, that would be a first. This is a good thing. I think.
why should anyone be surprised that the whitehouse has a hand
in this, they have politicized everything. and again they get
caught with their hand in the cookie jar. this whole bushco
administration is just one large sack of slimy shit.
IMPEACH–BUSH-CHENEY-CONDI-GONZALES NOW !!!!
By firing the contract employees the department of state has lost the ability to question them regarding this act. Now, the employees are not obligated to ‘report’ to the department of state.
Given the number of lawyers in Washington, this was intentional and is part of a cover up.
But the public will miss this I suspect - and bloggers dont read these posts.
So instead of “Obama’s passport files breached” we have “many passport files breached”.
Why were the only breaches “discovered” only after Obama’s was made public?
I think it’s suspicious that suddenly today they announce all 3 candiates were spied on. I don’t believe it. I think by pulling all 3 in it makes it not seem like what it is…Spying on your political enemies. They’ve been doing it the whole time and are getting a little sloppy…it’s just a matter of time before it all blows up. And the scary thing is the “they” might just be in the Clinton camp.
anon @ 40:
Excellent point. Keep them on the payroll, “fire” them, and tell them if they talk they will be prosecuted
Jon Killjoy @ 36:
hmmm… are you saying the lying corrupt former head of the NSA would allow something like this to go on under her asstoot guidance.
Government employees would NEVER abuse the ill-gotten powers that they have to delve into our private lives.
CD @ 14:
When the Department of Homeland Security does a background check when you apply for a passport, all of the information is put into a file.
“By firing the contract employees the department of state has lost the ability to question them regarding this act. Now, the employees are not obligated to ‘report’ to the department of state.”
Isn’t out sourcing and privatization great!!
Here’s what you’ll probably find in a passport file, in addition to the places you’ve visited:
http://www.state.gov/documents...../79955.pdf
The info isn’t too extensive, however it does have your SS# as well as your parent’s names. Also, interesting article here on Time.com…evidently lots of folks have access to your passport info….wonderful
http://www.time.com/time/natio.....ml?cnn=yes
Well, seems to me this “oh wait, all THREE candidates had their files breached” is a helluva coverup to ensure Obama doesn’t get any ’sympathy’ headway from this —- mebets about half what I own that mkkklain’s and shillary’s files weren’t touched.
Complete crap.
Notice how we the everyday peons are not protected from having our private info looked into by government employees, but the rich and famous have (figuratively) alarm bells ringing when their private data is analyzed?
2 comments:
1. I believe the snooping of McCain (and possibly clinton) was just a smokescreen to disguise the real intent of the illegal search - Obama. It makes sense that the Repubs look at Obama’s background as something that may produce a smoking gun and are doing anything to find something on him.
2. Stanley, Inc (the contractor) unbelievably landed a $570 million dollar new contract this week (check Stanley’s website - press releases) for more work on Passports. Why would the State Dept extend a new contract under the revelations of passport breach of security. Should not there have been a review of Stanley before this huge contract was given this week.
the incompetence continues to disgust me
Fire a department head or file criminal charges against the individuals who breached our nation’s security measures! For an adminstration that relies on reasons of “national security” to prevent public access and the access of congressional oversight committees to government records and files, their State Department certainly doesn’t seem to take our nation’s security very seriously. Nor do they seem competent enough to effectively protect it. Why, after security was breached and Clinton’s passport files were accessed in 2007, was it still possible for Obama’s and McCains passport files to be accessed in 2008? Why did the Bush adminstration wait until now to inform Mr. Obama that security to his passport records had been breached?