Senators From Both Parties Call for Dept. of Justice to Investigate Passport Breach
Barack Obama is calling for a thorough probe of the breaches of three candidates' passport files, including his. (AP Graphic)
Senators from both parties on Sunday urged the Department of Justice to investigate the unauthorized searches of the passport files of three presidential candidates by State Department workers.
“That kind of a breach of privacy is just despicable,” said Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I think that ought to be a very intense investigation.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., agreed, saying the incidents seem to point to a broader problem.
The Government Accountability Office has been warning about this problem for a decade. And it seems to me in this administration, there’s been pretty much a culture of disregard for privacy, and that’s part of the problem,” he said.
Both senators spoke on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
The State Department’s investigation into how and why the passport files of three presidential candidates were breached is scrutinizing an employee at a Virginia-based company, which is headed by an adviser to Barack Obama’s campaign.
The Washington Times, which broke the news Thursday that Obama’s files were improperly accessed, reported Saturday that the State Department inspector general’s internal probe will include polygraph tests of supervisors to determine whether there was a political motive behind the breaches.
The article said a focal point of the probe will be an employee who works for The Analysis Corporation and is still with the company. The firm is headed by John O. Brennan, an Obama adviser, FOX News confirms. The Times reported he advises the Democratic presidential candidate on intelligence and foreign policy matters.
The Times reported that the employee at TAC is the only individual who accessed both Obama’s and John McCain’s passport information. TAC decided to honor a State Department request to delay firing the consultant to give investigators time to conduct their investigation, the company said.
Two other contract workers were fired from Stanley Inc. after it was discovered they accessed Obama’s files. It could be challenging for the State Department to force them to answer questions, however. Unless they volunteer to cooperate, they would have to be served with a subpoena compelling them to testify before a grand jury.
Obama’s campaign at first questioned whether the senator was targeted for political reasons, but on Friday the State Department revealed Sens. Hillary Clinton and McCain also had their files improperly accessed. The State Department believes the cases could be just a matter of “imprudent curiosity,” but the internal investigation and a separate congressional probe are expected to delve into whether it was anything more.
“There are still many unanswered questions, including why these passport files were accessed and for what purpose,” Obama’s office said in a statement late Friday. “Sen. Obama believes a thorough investigation of these privacy breaches is necessary and expects one that is prompt and thorough.”
A fourth worker tapped into Clinton’s records as part of a training session last summer, the State Department said, and that violation was immediately recognized and the person admonished.
The Justice Department is monitoring the effort.
“None of us wants to have a circumstance in which any American’s passport file is looked at in an unauthorized way,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said as she offered apologies to the candidates.
The unauthorized digging into electronic government files on politicians recalled a 1992 case in which a Republican political appointee at the State Department was demoted for searching Bill Clinton’s passport records when Clinton was running against President George H.W. Bush.
Obama’s files were compromised on three occasions — Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and March 14. The department’s internal computer system “flags” certain records, including those of high-profile people, to tip off supervisors when someone tries to view the records without an appropriate reason.
It was not clear whether the employees saw anything other than the basic personal data such as name, citizenship, age, Social Security number and place of birth, which is required when someone fills out a passport application.
The files also include date and place of birth and address at time of application. Agency officials said the files generally would not list countries the person has traveled to.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey said the case has not yet been referred to the Justice Department for investigation, but he did not rule out the possibility of the Justice Department taking an independent look.
Click here to read the article in The Washington Times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What is the big deal? I think being in public office is a choice that we can all choose to do or not to do.. If you choose to go this route, anything and everything should be publicly available. As long as it wont cause harm to them or their family. I think all public officails should disclose their information so we can see what they are spending our tax dollars on. Whether it is visits to other countries or using private jets to go across our great nation, the dinner partes, etc.. We have the right to know!
They chose the public office, the magic word here is PUBLIC
Ok, so how much more dirty, scandalous, racist, sexist crap has to come out about this guy before he is forced to leave this campaign??? He is destructive and a pathological liar!!!! He is the one that is divisive and yet has the audacity to call Hillary that??!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Are people going to stop making excuses for this man or are they going to wake up and realize his motives are going to ruin this country!!!!! He has refused to include millions of voters because he knows he will lose if Florida and Michigan are counted!!!! This coming from a man that claims he wants to unite the country…but only when it suits his self-serving ways!! STEP DOWN OBAMA!!!!!
Sure hope all the ill informed voter’s, especially first time female voters, AKA, college students who endorse OHB, enjoy wearing the Islamic Burka’s in a few years when they become part of “changed” America. There will be no more smiles, how sad.
OK Dot to Dots
Is John O. Brennan advisor to Obama?
Did John O. Brennan serve as chief of staff to the director of the CIA George Tenet?
Was George Tenet a Clinton appointee?
Did John O. Brennan serve as deputy executive director of the CIA?
Did John O. Brennan head the National counterterrorism Center.
Was John O. Brennan appointed to the NCC with the approval of President Bush?
“YES”
Come on, do some research
Dot to Dot’s are so much fun, if you have more of the dots.
If Brennan has a loyalty, could it be to his former boss and Clinton appointee George Tenet, who served as head of the CIA from 1997 to mid-2004 — under both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Keep up this story,don’t let the other networks bury it! Good job fox!
I think everyone is trying to find somrthing so this man will not be elected. People stop pointing finger to just one person. Stop judging Obama and start looking into Clinton background.
You people just don’t get it. Did you or did you not hear the part about one of the contractors were linked to Hillary Clinton? Why is it that people just pick and choose the parts that they want to hear instead of listening to the whole story? When you listen to the whole story then maybe you can make a better assesment. Just wait until the investigation is over before we start to past judgement.
Since the Clinton breach preceded the Obama breach maybe Obama is using smoke and mirrors again to have his campaign look good when somebody finds out his supporter was snooping into Clinton’s passport. At first I thought this was mere employee curiosity. I checked out TACs website and note they are responsible for the Terrorist Watch List that has been an ongoing source of angst for many travelers.
Why I am not shocked by this news….You will not see this on CNN or MSNBC. Might knock the halo off Obama.
Senators McCain and Clinton should demand an apology from Obama. Wait Obama wants to waste more tax dollars on an investigation into this mess.
Please stop this shouting at rainbows and work on the economy, gas prices, the war, foeclosures, the price of college……just pick one and help solve the problem. Join us
well well well if that is not amazing.. Imagine that a company that is owned by a man who advises Obama is at the head of the violation. Can they cry any harder and try to bury the story about his preacher and his typical white person society comments?