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3 candidates' passport files breached; Rice apologizes
By Desmond Butler and Anne Flaherty
Associated Press
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WASHINGTON -- State Department workers pried into the supposedly secure passport files of presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, abashed officials admitted Friday in a revelation that had Condoleezza Rice telephoning the candidates to personally apologize.

The snooping incidents raised questions as to whether there was political motivation and why two contractors involved were fired before investigators had a chance to interview them. The State Department's inspector general was probing, with the Justice Department monitoring the effort, but Obama said that was not enough. He urged congressional involvement ``so it's not simply an internal matter.''

The digging into supposedly secure government records 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.

McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, said there should be ``a full investigation'' of the new snooping as well as an apology.

Democrat Obama said that better include Congress, not just Bush administration investigators.

``When you have not just one but a series of attempts to tap into people's personal records, that's a problem not just for me but for how our government functions,'' Obama told reporters in Portland, Ore., where he was campaigning. ``I expect a full and thorough investigation. It should be done be in conjunction with those congressional committees that have oversight function so it's not simply an internal matter.''

Rice was apologetic in public as well as in her private phone calls to the candidates.

``None of us wants to have a circumstance in which any American's passport file is looked at in an unauthorized way,'' she said after speaking with Obama.

``I told him that I was sorry, and I told him that I, myself, would be very disturbed if I learned that somebody had looked into my passport file,'' she added. ``And therefore, I will stay on top of it and get to the bottom of it.''

The State Department confirmed Thursday night that Obama's files had been compromised on three separate occasions — Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and as recently as last week, on March 14. By the time senior officials were made aware, two contract employees had been fired and a third disciplined, agency officials said. The fact that the two have been fired could make it more difficult for the State Department to force them to answer questions.

The department wouldn't name the company that employed those workers, but The Associated Press learned it was Stanley Inc., a Virginia-based outfit that earlier this week won a five-year, $570-million government contract to support passport services.

Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday that a separate search conducted after the first revelation showed that workers also had snooped on McCain and Clinton.

The individual who had been reprimanded in the Obama incident had also reviewed McCain's records earlier this year, McCormack said. While the employee has not been fired, that person no longer has access to passport files, he said.

``I can assure you that person's going to be at the top of the list of the inspector general when they talk to people, and we are currently reviewing our (disciplinary) options with respect to that person,'' McCormack said.

In Clinton's case, someone accessed her file last summer as part of a training session involving another State Department worker. McCormack said the violation was immediately recognized and the person was admonished.

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.

McCormack said information on the incidents points to workers' ``imprudent curiosity'' more than something more sinister.

But ``we are not dismissive of any other possibility, and that's the reason why we have an investigation under way,'' he said.

Former Independent Counsel Joseph diGenova, who investigated the 1992 scandal, said the firings of the two contract employees will make the investigation more difficult because the inspector general can't compel them to talk.

``My guess is if he tries to talk to them now, in all likelihood they will take the Fifth,'' diGenova said, referring to the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination.

Likewise, Patrick Kennedy, the top management official at the State Department, briefed the candidates' staffs on Capitol Hill, then said to reporters, ``The State Department has very, very rigorous rules about controls and access for privacy material. We review them regularly and we have a large organization with a lot of people in it. Mistakes and errors happen from time to time. ... We caught these and we've got to work and correct that process.''

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said the case has not yet been referred to the Justice Department for investigation, and indicated prosecutors were likely to wait until the State Department's inspector general concludes that inquiry. But Mukasey did not rule out the possibility of the Justice Department taking an independent look.

``Have they asked us to become involved — no,'' Mukasey said. ``When, as, and if we have a basis for an investigation, including a reference — that is, one basis would be a reference — we could conduct one.''

Asked what another basis could be, Mukasey said: ``I don't want to speculate but if somebody walked in here with a box full of evidence, they wouldn't be turned away.''

McCormack declined to name the companies that employed the contractors, despite the urging of a senior House Democrat, Henry Waxman of California, who said such information is in the public interest.

``At this point, we just started an investigation,'' McCormack said. ``We want to err on the side of caution.''

Sen. McCain, who was in Paris on Friday, said any breach of passport privacy deserves action.

``The United States of America values everyone's privacy, and corrective action should be taken,'' McCain said.

It is 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 a person fills out a passport application.

The file also includes date and place of birth, address at time of application and the countries the person has traveled to.

``It is worth noting that that earlier situation (in 1992) also was characterized as isolated and nonpolitical when the news initially emerged,'' said Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

``This time, as then, Congress will pay close attention to the depth of executive branch involvement in the rifling of presidential candidates' passport files,'' he added.

The Washington Times first reported the incident involving Obama.

Take a look
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tells reporters that she has apologized to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for an incident in which State Department contractors unnecessarily reviewed his passport file, Friday, March 21, 2008, at the State Department in Washington, during a meeting with Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim. Rice said she would be "disturbed" if her passport file was viewed in such an unauthorized manner. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Reader comments on this story - 21 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

gabeski wrote on Mar 22, 2008 8:54 AM:

" To voiceinwilderness; thank you, finally someone else who understands that these are not normal people. When they decide to run for public office their entire background should be open for inspection. There should be no one elected because of their race or gender, but instead because of their ability to lead our nation . "

Annienap wrote on Mar 21, 2008 7:42 PM:

" I have given up on this country and our democracy that we do NOT have anymore. I don't care that they got into these people's files. If I, or anyone else, can be spied on without warrants, then why should I care about this whiney crap for presidential candidates. I still want Hillary to win, but MORE than that, I want to be able to turn my TV on and NOT have to see Obama on it. I am SICK of him! All he does is make speeches; he give NO plans or possible solutions. He has definitely pulled the wool over a lot of people's eyes. GO HILLARY!! "

VoiceInWilderness wrote on Mar 21, 2008 4:14 PM:

" Anyone running for or holding political office should be completely scrutinized and that would include their passport and visa activities. It's not a matter of my or your privacy as individuals...these are PUBLIC people and their lives should be open books. These people have or will have profound power over us and if our vote is going to be worth anything we need to know EVERYTHIING about them. In this case...the passports...we certainly need to know where they are travelling. In Illinois, it seems all a candidate has to reveal is in a one page statement that they have no vested interests. Ha! Sure. At least they have to sign a paper saying they're not a member of the communist party. How about our presidential candidates? What is full disclosure for if it doesn't include finances and travel. If we aren't careful this election, we'll be electing someone just because of race or gender. "

Not so Political wrote on Mar 21, 2008 3:04 PM:

" Rememer Bush wants to beable to look into everyones life, all the time. If this employee can look deep just guess what the goverment is going !! "

Dave wrote on Mar 21, 2008 2:54 PM:

" I don't want anyone viewing my files who don't have any business doing it.
The person who viewed the records now know Obama's travel logs.
It's absolutely none of their business. If they pass them on to someone else, they should go to prison.
It may seem small but anytime anyone unauthorized sees our personal information, regardless of it's worth, it is a violation of our privacy.
"

ktlin wrote on Mar 21, 2008 2:35 PM:

" to dwarf: Somewhere I saw the whole speech that REv Wright gave. And the press has made it sound like there is nothing but hatred coming out of his mouth. However, in the speech he listed a whole host of other things and then drew a conclusion at the end. In its entirety it just didn't sound as bad. And I do believe the statement of gD America was also taken out of context. He was also talking about problems and then saying when some say God Bless America they are really acting like GD America. I am not excusing the comments at all but they just don't seem as bad in their context. And I think some people in the audience may not have been as shocked when they heard the whole context. But some don't even want to think past the hatred. I for one know I have heard much worse from others and it was taken in context. "

dwarf wrote on Mar 21, 2008 2:01 PM:

" Well, Freedom Fanatic, part of the problem is that the major networks - and I'm looking at all of them, but especially Fox News at the moment - are focusing on those same 10-second clips and sound bites, milling candidates' stands down to little incomplete, bite-sized, easily digestible morsels of not-really-facts. Also, there's been increasing concentration on the candidates' advisors rather than the candidates themselves - Geraldine Ferraro, Obama's former consultant, Wright, and so on.

I don't know if you remember the good ol' days of ... well, 2 months ago ... when everyone actually *was* talking about issues. It's all stories about gubernatorial hookers, blond lobbyists, crazy preachers, and where someone's wife was while their husband was cheating on them.

Apparently, America got bored with that. Now, it's gossip, not politics.

The best position statement from any candidate in the past weeks was Obama's race speech. Nevertheless, that too got distilled down into sound bites about how he apparently hates his grandma. "

Freedom fanatic wrote on Mar 21, 2008 1:42 PM:

" To dwarf; I haven't heard any of the candidates with abundant details of what they are going to do. I hear the Dems talk of National Health care, pull out of Iraq and change. The change needed is not explained, just we need change. Change is only good when a planned change is used to correct or improve. The Republican candidate wants to finish the fight in Iraq and supports many of the Dems socialist programs. We need a third party candidate to represent the people and not give away the farm. None of the three are worthy to be this Nation's president. "

ktlin wrote on Mar 21, 2008 1:34 PM:

" to pol heretic: Talk radio can't believe the audacity of Obama. They are beside themselves because they didn't derail him and it is hilarious. A guy that frequently sits in for Rush Limbaugh was yelling at some one talking about the context of Wrights video and was yelling so loudly and so bad that the caller hung up on him. I then turned the radio off and my little boy said good I didn't like him yelling like that. And Rush now is upset because Obama is talking about race issues. He didn't bring it up they did. Rush was making fun of the way Richardson looked today. And they can't believe that Obama would actually discuss race issues when they are not a problem and we are doing just fine! I say then they should have kept their mouths shut! "

OGS wrote on Mar 21, 2008 1:25 PM:

" Big brother spies on us all the time so who cares about these three incompetent candidates? They can be spied on to, hooray! "

ktlin wrote on Mar 21, 2008 1:24 PM:

" Isn't it funny that when people were fainting at Obama's rallies suddenly for the first time in history people were fainting at Clintons rallies. Last night when this stuff was reported it crossed my mind that soon Hillary and McCain with say their privacy had also been breached. Was Obama in the spotlight just a little too much? "

Red Reeky wrote on Mar 21, 2008 12:47 PM:

" I suppose I should be relieved that they got into everyone's files, not just Obama, but it makes you wonder just how many people have access to this kind of information.

Dwarf - I think it's clear he's not a good candidate because he has spent 20 years as an active member of a black liberation theology church. Somehow it didn't occur to him to disavow the teachings of this church until he was "caught" if you will. Reports are that Oprah "got it". I'm surprised she didn't enlighten him. "

Live Wire! wrote on Mar 21, 2008 12:20 PM:

" The security of confidential files is only as good as the trustworthiness of the people who have clearance. They need to make an example of anyone caught doing something like this. "

dwarf wrote on Mar 21, 2008 12:16 PM:

" Ya see, Red, I still don't have any idea what's so damning about this past week that it's "clear" Obama's not a good candidate.

Yesterday, Huckabee stood up for him on the pastor issue. Today, Chris Freaking Wallace got on Fox News and criticized his own network for unfairly clipping the Grandma line. One of their anchors *walked off* because of the bashing.

It's really sad when politics isn't about issues, plans, and and capability and instead turns to 10-second soundbites, out-of-context quotes, character assassination, and guilt by association. "

dwarf wrote on Mar 21, 2008 11:19 AM:

" Think about this for a second.

The breaches were on 1/9, 2/21, and 3/14. When the file was accessed, it immediately sent a notice to the supervisor.

What happened on 1/9? What happened on 2/21? What happened between then and now? "

Red Reeky wrote on Mar 21, 2008 11:16 AM:

" The culprits should be prosecuted. If they're connected to either Hillary or McCain's campaign, that should be made public. But I think we've learned enough about Obama in the last week (without knowing anything about his passport records), to know he's not a wise choice for President. "

Political Heretic wrote on Mar 21, 2008 10:39 AM:

" Well, if Obama becomes the Democratic candidate, I guess when the McCain camp starts slinging their mud we'll know where it came from. And make no mistake, folks, if Obama does as much as pass wind in public the right-wing noise machine will exaggerate it to the level of a stoning offense. Bet on it. "

Ktlin wrote on Mar 21, 2008 10:38 AM:

" These need to be investigated further because of all three dates are significant. Right after he won Iowa, when he did well after a couple of other primaries and on the day the videos of Rev Wright were made public. And someone who worked for a previous administration as an ambassador is closely connected to the people involved. "

dwarf wrote on Mar 21, 2008 10:27 AM:

" Cue Pantagraph bloggers referring to a serious breach in privacy and security as "whining about nothing" in 3... 2... 1... "

lindini wrote on Mar 21, 2008 10:12 AM:

" They are scrambling so hard to find something on Obama I wouldn't be suprised if they were going through his left over hair trimmings at the barber shop. This is just going to keep getting uglier and uglier until the election is over. "

MacDaddy wrote on Mar 21, 2008 10:11 AM:

" Serious breach? Great just what we need, another investigation for $2 mil to find out what we knew already, the situation once found was taken care of. You can get someone's SSN from the IL DMV, it's really not that hard to get if you wanted to. If it were Joe Shmoo, the people fired and the other person placed on disciplinary actions would not even be news. For goodness sakes people, I thought that finding such information is a primary use of the internet, there are several websites that can be used to pull such information w/o the person even knowing it. "
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