Obama, Clinton, McCain Passport Files Breached; Secretary Of State Rice Presses Investigation
WASHINGTON (AP) ~ The passport files of the three presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain, have been breached, the State Department said Friday.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the breaches of McCain and Clinton's passport files were not discovered until Friday, after officials were made aware of the privacy violation regarding Obama's records and a separate search was conducted.
McCormack said the individual who accessed Obama's files also reviewed McCain's file earlier this year. This contract employee has been reprimanded, but not fired. The individual no longer has access to passport records, he said.
"We are reviewing our options with respect to that person and his employment status," McCormack said. The two contractors fired for snooping into Barack Obama’s passport records worked for Arlington, Va.-based Stanley Inc., The Associated Press reports. Earlier this week, the 3,500-person company won a five-year, $570-million contract to support passport services at the State Department.
In Clinton's case, an individual last summer accessed her file as part of a training session involving another State Department worker. McCormack said the one-time violation was immediately recognized and the person was admonished.
The incidents raise the question of whether the information was accessed for political purposes. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with Obama and Clinton on Friday and expressed her regrets. She planned to speak with McCain as well.
State Department officials headed to Capitol Hill to brief the staffs of all three candidates.
"The secretary has made it clear . . . to them that this is top priority," McCormack said. "There's nothing else that's more important than make sure go through and do this investigation."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the breaches of McCain and Clinton's passport files were not discovered until Friday, after officials were made aware of the privacy violation regarding Obama's records and a separate search was conducted.
McCormack said the individual who accessed Obama's files also reviewed McCain's file earlier this year. This contract employee has been reprimanded, but not fired. The individual no longer has access to passport records, he said.
"We are reviewing our options with respect to that person and his employment status," McCormack said. The two contractors fired for snooping into Barack Obama’s passport records worked for Arlington, Va.-based Stanley Inc., The Associated Press reports. Earlier this week, the 3,500-person company won a five-year, $570-million contract to support passport services at the State Department.
In Clinton's case, an individual last summer accessed her file as part of a training session involving another State Department worker. McCormack said the one-time violation was immediately recognized and the person was admonished.
The incidents raise the question of whether the information was accessed for political purposes. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with Obama and Clinton on Friday and expressed her regrets. She planned to speak with McCain as well.
State Department officials headed to Capitol Hill to brief the staffs of all three candidates.
"The secretary has made it clear . . . to them that this is top priority," McCormack said. "There's nothing else that's more important than make sure go through and do this investigation."
Labels: 2008 Presidential Race, Barack Obama, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Passports
posted by Mike McCarville @ 1:29 PM
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