State Dept. Workers Fired For Accesing Obama's Passport Files

[LoungeMachine]

Looking at Obama's File Gets Two Fired


By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 21, 2008; Page A02

The State Department said last night that it had fired two contract employees and disciplined a third for accessing Sen. Barack Obama's passport file.

Obama's presidential campaign immediately called for a "complete investigation."

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the employees had individually looked into Obama's passport file on Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and March 14. To access such a file, the employees must first acknowledge a pledge to keep the information private.

The employees were each caught because of a computer-monitoring system that is triggered when the passport accounts of a "high-profile person" are accessed, he said. The system was put in place after the State Department was embroiled in a scandal involving the access of the passport records of then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992.

"The State Department has strict policies and controls on access to passport records by government and contract employees," Casey said.

The department uses contract employees to help with data entry, customer service and other administration tasks. The employee involved in the March 14 incident has only been disciplined so far, because the probe of that incident is continuing, an official said.

Though the workers were caught by a computer system that focuses on high-profile people, Casey said that a computer report is generated on every access to passport records and that spot checks are taken to ensure that employees are not violating the Privacy Act.

"This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. "This is a serious matter that merits a complete investigation, and we demand to know who looked at Senator Obama's passport file, for what purpose, and why it took so long for them to reveal this security breach."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032003422.html?hpid=topnews

[Guitar Shark]

Lounge,

Fair warning - if you continue to post stories without your own commentary, I'm going to dump your threads to Arielle's.

[FORD]

Curious that Bill Richardson endorsed Obama immediately after this news broke.

One might think that Bill had a good idea who was behind this "snooping" and it was the last straw for him.

Says a lot when even long time DLC/Clinton associates are disgusted by the actions of Mr. and Mrs. Slick Willie.

[Guitar Shark]

According to the current news story, Hillary's and McCain's passports were accessed too.

[kwame k]

Originally posted by Guitar Shark
According to the current news story, Hillary's and McCain's passports were accessed too.

I just read this too. My question is why Connie Rice called and apologized. This article goes over some of the stuff already posted but with the McCain, Clinton and Rice issues being addressed.

By DESMOND BUTLER and ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writers
46 minutes ago



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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080321/ap_on_el_pr/passports_candidates_1

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by Guitar Shark
Lounge,

Fair warning - if you continue to post stories without your own commentary, I'm going to dump your threads to Arielle's.

This isn't an Op-Ed, counselor.

I love attorneys who skim over the details....

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by Guitar Shark
According to the current news story, Hillary's and McCain's passports were accessed too.

Funny how they didnt find THOSE until AFTER the story broke.

How come if this was detected as far back as late Feb., why didnt the State Dept. know about it until the Moonie Times Reporter called them to get a comment on the LEAK.


This whole "story" stinks.

Utter bullshit spin.

[Guitar Shark]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
This isn't an Op-Ed, counselor.

I love attorneys who skim over the details....

LMFAO!! So let me get this straight...

You're making a distinction between news stories and op-eds? If people post news stories without comment it's ok, but if they post op-eds without comment, they get dumped? What is the logic there?

Does your drinking water actually come directly from Lake Washington? That might explain it.

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by Guitar Shark
LMFAO!! So let me get this straight...

You're making a distinction between news stories and op-eds? If people post news stories without comment it's ok, but if they post op-eds without comment, they get dumped? What is the logic there?

Does your drinking water actually come directly from Lake Washington? That might explain it.

You got it.

Obviously you're new to the forum, and since this has been covered to death, I'll explain it to you, ala Eat My Asshole.

It all started with Big Bad Brie spamming the forum with op-eds.

An op-ed, is SOMEONE ELSE'S opinion and take on a subject, and rarely, idf at all contains hard news, or journalism.

Posting someone else's opinion, without bothering to add your own, or discussing whether you agree with it or not, was getting tiresome.

Brie even admitted posting it just to troll.

NEWS STORIES don't require a follow up. You are simply reporting the news, and opening it up for discussion.

It's always been this way since Nick and I were modded, and we've always been consistant. Do you research.

Do I fucking care if you follow the rule? nope.

You are free to do as you wish.


Now, I'd love to keep THIS NEWS story on topic, as I think it's going to evolve into something much more than some SD temps doing some innocent snooping.

Okay with you?

[LoungeMachine]

From what I've read/heard today, a "system" was put in place after candidate Bill Clinton's passport file was hacked into at the State Dept.

The "system" was supposed to alert the State Dept. officials of any breach.

The State Dept. spokeman today said the "system" worked just as it was supposed to.

YET HE ONLY LEARNED ABOUT IT WHEN THE WASHINGTON TIMES REPORTER called for a comment.

Wow, now that's SOME system.

And the person who is supposed to look into it, had to RESIGN over the whole Blackwater Faisco months ago. Cookie Krumthaler, or whatever his name was.

So I wonder who Dr. Condi Rice is planning on having on the case???



There is way more to this story than meets the eye.

[FORD]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine

And the person who is supposed to look into it, had to RESIGN over the whole Blackwater Faisco months ago. Cookie Krumthaler, or whatever his name was.

Actually, that's Cookie Krongard. Brother of Buzzy Krongard, a long time CIA buddy of Poppy Bush, who is now an executive at....








...wait for it...........



BLACKWATER

Which is whom these "temps" probably worked for as well.

As does Hillary's campaign hit man Markkk Penn.

Small world, eh?

[LoungeMachine]

Yes, and Cookie had to resign or face PERJURY charges....


But back to THIS scandal.


How can The State Dept, in THIS POST 9/11 WORLD allow people access to US SENATORS' PERSONAL INFORMATION LIKE SS# ??????

Just how secure are we when some fucking TEMPS can access the personal information of US Senators??????

Imagine if Al Qaeda had one of these guys on the payroll or blackmailed, and got him to turn over the information.


Wonder what TERRORISTS could do with a US Senator's personal information?

[LoungeMachine]

DEJA VU ???????


State Dept. Official Who Searched Clinton's Passport Files Resigns

By ROBERT PEAR,

Published: November 18, 1992


A State Department official who carried out the two-day search of passport files for information about Gov. Bill Clinton said today that he had resigned, just 48 hours before Federal investigators are expected to issue a report criticizing the search.

The official, Steven M. Moheban, was a top aide to Elizabeth M. Tamposi, the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs who was dismissed last week by President Bush for her role in the search of files on Mr. Clinton, his mother, Virginia Kelley, and Ross Perot, the independent Presidential candidate.

"I resigned Monday," said Mr. Moheban, a 30-year-old native of Nashua, N.H., Ms. Tamposi's hometown. "I no longer work for the State Department."

Mr. Moheban said he had not been asked to resign but had stepped down voluntarily to "pursue business opportunities in the private sector." Report Is Awaited

He was reluctant to give details about his role in the file search, saying he wanted to wait for a report from the inspector general of the State Department. But the timing of his resignation suggested that he was accepting some responsibility for the search and the way it was conducted.

The inspector general, Sherman M. Funk, and the Acting Secretary of State, Lawrence S. Eagleburger, plan to issue the report on the investigation on Wednesday. Among those it is expected to criticize are Ms. Tamposi and Mr. Moheban, a political appointee who had served as her special assistant since July 1990.

Ms. Tamposi has said that White House officials encouraged the search of Mr. Clinton's records and that her superiors approved it. The inspector general has interviewed White House officials. But it is not clear whether he will assign any responsibility for the search to senior officials at the White House and the State Department, or will merely focus on Ms. Tamposi and lower-ranking employees.

Officials following the investigation said Mr. Funk's report would probably not accuse or absolve anyone outside the State Department. In addition, they predicted, Mr. Funk will probably conclude that officials made contradictory statements to him and that he has no way to resolve some of them.

Ms. Tamposi, a 37-year-old former State Representative in New Hampshire, got her job at the State Department on the recommendation of John H. Sununu, a former Governor of New Hampshire who was President Bush's first chief of staff and was often blamed for many of Mr. Bush's political troubles.

State Department officials say they searched Mr. Clinton's passport file in response to requests filed by several news organizations under the Freedom of Information Act. The department acknowledges that it violated its own regulations by accelerating the search so it would be completed before Election Day.

Mr. Moheban confirmed that he went to a National Archives warehouse in suburban Maryland on Sept. 30 and on Oct. 1 to look for Mr. Clinton's records. Mr. Moheban carried out the search with two career employees of the State Department.

"I went out to the records center to respond to the F.O.I.A. requests," Mr. Moheban said. "I personally was asked by Ms. Tamposi to get involved." Mr. Moheban said his responsibility was to make sure the two Civil Service employees followed proper procedure in performing the search.

Ms. Tamposi says she was told by another State Department official on Sept. 28 that the White House wanted the files checked for negative information on Mr. Clinton. Ms. Tamposi has told associates that she believes the Administration is trying to make her a scapegoat in the incident. Links in Business Deals

Mr. Moheban's family has been involved in many real estate deals with the Tamposi family in New Hampshire. Maurice L. Arel, a former Mayor of Nashua, said Mr. Moheban had worked for the Tamposi family's real estate business. Ms. Tamposi and her family have raised large amounts of money for President Bush, Mr. Sununu and other Republicans.

In a financial disclosure statement filed with the Federal Government in 1989, Ms. Tamposi reported that she had an investment in a business called Moheban Enterprises. She estimated the value of her interest in the underlying assets at $215,000 to $550,000.

CONTINUED AT http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...52C1A964958260


UNFUCKING BELIEVABLE

[kwame k]

The funny fucking thing is the current administration doesn't do anything new. They just go back to the old playbook, dust it off, and spoon feed it to the masses.

This story is interesting. I wonder how this will play out. Watergate with a lemon twist, updated for the MySpace generation.

[Guitar Shark]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
You got it.

Obviously you're new to the forum, and since this has been covered to death, I'll explain it to you, ala Eat My Asshole.

It all started with Big Bad Brie spamming the forum with op-eds.

An op-ed, is SOMEONE ELSE'S opinion and take on a subject, and rarely, idf at all contains hard news, or journalism.

Posting someone else's opinion, without bothering to add your own, or discussing whether you agree with it or not, was getting tiresome.

Brie even admitted posting it just to troll.

NEWS STORIES don't require a follow up. You are simply reporting the news, and opening it up for discussion.

It's always been this way since Nick and I were modded, and we've always been consistant. Do you research.

Do I fucking care if you follow the rule? nope.

You are free to do as you wish.


Now, I'd love to keep THIS NEWS story on topic, as I think it's going to evolve into something much more than some SD temps doing some innocent snooping.

Okay with you?

Thank you for taking the time to explain your tortuous logic to me Kip. It is slowly becoming more clear why this forum is dying.

Dumping op-eds just because they are op-eds is silly.

News stories generate discussion. I totally agree. But op-eds generate discussion as well, so long as the thread remains open. There is no significant difference.

If BBB is spamming, that's one thing. But that hasn't been a problem lately has it?