There were three types of breaches

Posted: Friday, March 21, 2008 12:28 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: 2008, Clinton, McCain, Obama

From MSNBC's David Shuster
Here's what we know so far:
(1) Fall 2007. A training exercise last fall involved somebody typing in Hillary Clinton's name... The person involved was not fired.

(2-a) January 9, 2008. A contractor looked at the passport file of Barack Obama. The supervisor felt it was a firing offense. The contractor was fired. But the immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.

(2-b) February 21, 2008. Another contractor looked at Obama's passport file. Supervisor felt it was a firing offense. The contractor was fired. The immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.

(3) March 14, 2008. A third contractor accessed Obama's passport file and McCain's passport file. Supervisor felt it was not a firing offense. The contractor suspended. The immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.

Key questions: What made the Jan. 9 and Feb. 21 breaches of Obama more serious than the fall '07 breach of Clinton and the March 14 breaches of Obama/McCain?

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Comments

The breaches on Obama's passport file were more serious than Hillary's because it happened more than once and Hillary's occured by an employee who was being trained. I'm not sure about McCain's at this point.

Food for thought (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:34 PM)

With this news of the passport breach of all the major candidates, this Eastern weekend will be filled with Rev. Wright controversy and Obama's "typical white person" comment about his grandmother. There will be very little coverage of the Richardson's endorsement.

Good luck Dems.

Tony in Indy (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:35 PM)

Nevermind any of that. How in the name of Jumpin' Jack Flash, during the whole "protecting America from the extremist" can there be sooooo many breaches in house????

If someone hacked into your bank account ONCE anyone would fortify their security. So how did this happen 3 more times? And only one person fired?

I'm sure people still would rather beat the recently deceased horse named Wright but this is one of those serious issues we tend to overlook.

Dr.Strangedog, MI (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:35 PM)

When Hillary's passport file was breached, it was during employee training and was caught immediately. Chances are that trainee did not get to see anything.

Angie (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:36 PM)

1) Fall 2007. A training exercize last fall involved somebody typing in Hillary Clinton's name... The person involved was not fired.

(2-a) January 9, 2008. A contractor looked at the passport file of Barack Obama. The supervisor felt it was a firing offense. The contractor was fired. But the immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.

(2-b) February 21, 2008. Another contractor looked at Obama's passport file. Supervisor felt it was a firing offense. The contractor was fired. The immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.

(3) March 14, 2008. A third contractor accessed Obama's passport file and McCain's passport file. Supervisor felt it was not a firing offense. The contractor suspended. The immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.

Ok now I am wondering if this isn’t Hillary in a backdoor way? Because the fall breach was a training exersize.

I think McCain and Obama have every right to get to the bottom of this mess.

Anne/Ohio (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:40 PM)

When you look at a black man's passport, the white government will fire you.

When you look at a white person's passport, the white government will only suspend you.

This is called Political Correctness and it's a Double Standard.

Calling it for what it is (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:40 PM)

I just learned you can not oly breach but edit them also. How about this.Obama wanted something changed and it took 3 times to finish the job. Breached McCains too doesnt look to spooky.

just a thought (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:44 PM)

The january and February breaches that were "fire-able" definitely raise questions. It is very interesting that these were contract employees and not regular government employees -- the current Bush administration were up to mischief, they wouldn't need to hire contractors to look up these files. Sure sounds like a classic Clinton dirty tactic.....after all, they probably got the idea when someone did the same thing to Bill all those years ago. These people need to be investigated, as well as any political ties they had. The timing right after Iowa and the Potomac primaries is too coincidental.

Carrie in Texas (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:44 PM)

I am concernec about the passport breaches. There are too many unanswered questions. The Clinton breech in 2007 was from a trainee and it was caught immediately. I give the benefit of the doubt in this situation because it was done during training. It is rather odd that Obama's file was breached 3 times after major primaries which he won and after the Wright tapes were released. McCain's file was also breached on the same day as Obama. These incidents did not occur during a training. What was the reason for breaching the files? Also, if McCain and Clinton's files were breached once, why was Obama's breached 3 times? The state department should do a detailed investigation.

voter (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:45 PM)

So can we stop blaming Clinton for this now? How about an apology to Hillary and McCain?

Rochester, NY (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:48 PM)

My immediate reaction to hearing the story about Obama's passport file being breached was that it was probably just some employees that were curious - kind of like the phenominon of googling people.

However, when I found out the dates on which this occurred - I changed my mind:

Jan.9 - the date of the New Hampshire Primary...AFTER Obama had surprised everyone and won Iowa handily

Feb. 21 - After the Patomic Primary where Obama cleaned up and, I believe, the day of the Texas debate

March 14 - the day the Rev. Wright scandal broke big...These would have been very politically expediant times for something bad to come out about Obama.

Add to that the SAME person who did this, accessed Senator McCain's passport.

The announcement that Hillary's passport had been breached in a training exercise LAST July did little to quell the suspiciousness of this - in fact, it appears to be the exception that proves the rule, it does not "fit" with the other breaches in its character.

WAY too much of a coincidence.

And yes, you can learn things from a passport file - maybe nothing of substance, but I'm betting that IF this were political, they wouldn't need to find something of substance to spin out into the media cycle and do harm.

That said, I am NOT blaming Clinton, it MAY BE just a very strange coincidence...but it is really questionable.

Maybe everyone wouldn't be so quick to blame Clinton were it not for her demonstrated willingness to do ANYTHING to win, she has lied, bent rules, and even tried to change the rules where it suits her. And she has a less then stellar record of honesty - One thing about Hillary's 35 years of "experience" that IS accurate is that it is wrought with scandal.

So, though she may be an innocent in this, and it may be unfair for people to speculate....Is it any wonder that they are?

Hillary has no one to blame for the wild speculation that she somehow has a hand in this - but HERSELF.

Mel (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:51 PM)

Obama and Hillary are running around totally offended, as usual. On the other hand, McCain is meeting with world leaders.

Jack Sheldon, Scottsdale AZ (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:52 PM)

Do it to 3 people and it looks like you weren't stalking one of them. When do we find out who these contractors are, what their affiliations are and when does the media follow them like Britney?

Errol in Newark (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 12:52 PM)

On January 9 there was a breach. The next day Hillary Clinton said Barack Obama has only been to one NATO country.
On February 21 there was a breach. 5 days later the "turban" photo was released (purportedly by the Clinton people). It was a photo taken at a Consular affair and very few people had access to it. Who's in charge of passports? Consular affairs. Who's a supervisor there-someone Bill Clinton named ambassador to Paraguy during his administration.
Who know what would have come out about both Obama and McCain if this hadn't broken.
And this is a big deal-when Bush senior did this to Bill Clinton, there was a federal investigation into the breach.

Sue, Bloomington, IN (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:01 PM)

To Calling it as it is: Your statement was odd considering that Obama's file was breached on March 14th and the employee was not fired. Please read the infomation before making comments that are not supported by facts.

voter (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:02 PM)

The slow-mo, delicious, descent of, "the one", into just another one is as gratifying to Clinton supporters as it is depressing to Barry's cult. Next week will be a bad one too, but nowhere near as bad as the one following it...

TheProfessor (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:08 PM)

I guess Obama just gave go ahead for Super Delagates to go to Hillary now. He said those Delagates better not go against there people. Hillary won New Mexico and Obama found a way again to breach th efriendship and loyalty of people for Hillary. This is th egreat devider not uniter for sure.Makes me so sick to hear his lies

No uniter there (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:10 PM)

I put this in the same category as NAFTAgate. We don't know the full story and we probably never will. This is quickly becoming a distraction.
Riddle me this...
What are the most important issues in this campaign and when was the last time they were discussed?

Ian (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:12 PM)

We the People of the United State of America want the names of these individuals, and what are thier functions. PERIOD.

sozzi, mamaroneck, ny (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:12 PM)

Why would someone during a training exercise just type in Hillary Clinton name? There is more to this story. If this person type in her name, than is more likely they look into her files. Her files was breach.

cs (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:13 PM)

http://twocanpete.blogspot.com/
The employees probably just thought it was okay to look at someone's governemnt files without a warrant. After all isn't that how it works now?

twocanpete (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:14 PM)

Question 2. Who supervises these supervisors? What check and balance is in place on them.

Obama 08 (Bill Richardson's endorsement speech was awesome!) Si se puede!

Lisa in New Britain, CT (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:14 PM)

Bill Clintons passport was also breached in 92 and now Hillarys. So the repubs are playing dirty on everyone including us. Why are we shocked when they have done this crap from the beginning? So what do Obamabots do about this? They blame Clinton, of course. Obama and his camp are getting in their usual victim position. With Keith Olbermann foaming at the mouth for poor, poor Obama for one whole hour last night. As a dem and Hillary supporter, I will not vote for Obama and his cult.They make me sick.

Chris Penn (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:14 PM)

Mox (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:19 PM)

The State Department has not revealed the name of the contractor who employed the individulas who had unlaful access to passport records. Will the State Department assure the American public that the contractor is not a publicly traded company or a sub of a PTC? If publicly traded, has trading of its shares been suspended? Is the aim of the State Depoartment to let insiders sell their shares first?

The State Department should not be allowed to withhold information of this type from the public for any reason.

Wallace Gregory, Edisto Island, SC (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:21 PM)

The person who looked at Hillary's information should have been fired on the spot. If you cannot follow directions on your first day of work... Look at the mess they are dealing with now. It would have been better to let the person the first day.

They all should have been fired. Some much for homeland security.

Deb, Mpls (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:24 PM)

Lets see, the economy is staggering and terrorists are at our doorstep, but msnbc chooses to devote wall-to-wall coverage of someone peeking at someone elses passport? The media of this country is in a real need for a good cleaning out.

Peter Pander (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:26 PM)

I can totally understand that training one...

"OK... this is how you search for someone by name... Put in the person's name, last name first..."

"I think I'll use Hillary Clinton... Clinton, Hillary"

*KLAXON*DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER*

Rob, Indianapolis (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:26 PM)

great questions, but what I really want to know - what is the name of the contractor. We should really know this by now, shouldn't we?

Jill, Tampa,FL (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:27 PM)

Can you say Watergate? It was lower level people who did the actual break-in.

I wonder if Billary are behind this? You know what? Even if they aren't, just the cloud of suspicion now will hang over their heads. That itself will be damaging to her campaign, as if it wasn't already damaged enough.

suzanne, elkhorn, wi (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:28 PM)

Coverup.

Nobody ever spied on Hillary, they just typed in her name. Now Condi and the corporate media are pretending they did. And the spying on McCain was likely just a coverup to make it appear that the spying on Obama weren't the only incidents. Notice how recent it was. Why no spying on him or Hillary before? Because the spying was only ever about digging for dirt on Obama... and it was done by insiders and probably for Hillary's benefit.

This is VERY FISHY.

james mcdouglas, los angeles, ca (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:29 PM)

I want to know why the time is now he cannt wait. WHY. What a going no where person. Loser for the party. Just saw poll he is behind McCain match up. He lost 20 points in last little while.I will work with everything i have to help McCain if Obama steals this race. He is so arrogant. You think these 2 states he just dished will vote for him.I dont think so he can sing ghosts of White House past. Why is it he cannt wait,heard this before and I want to know why. on Good Friday too God Bless America.

no Obama08 (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:29 PM)

omg can you believe Obama talking about an honest campaign??He went to Chicago after collage because the people there could help him get started in politics. God Bless America and forgive Obama. So tired of him talking togeatherness as he tears us apart. Please America help save our country. Uses same lines babies,chicken dinners oh lord.

Mox (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:19 PM)
----------------------------------------------
Actually he went to Chicago to be a community organizer. Then he went to Law School to be a civil rights lawyer. Then he went back to chicago and turned down almost any job he wanted in the country. Then went into politics because he felt he could help more that way. Get your facts straight.

Chuck, K, NY (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:34 PM)

Like Watergate, we might want to follow the money, if any was ever involved. This doesn't mean Hillary is behind it, but maybe some of her supporters saw this as way to help her out--or maybe they sold the information to someone. They need to release the names of these companies and employees--maybe the FBI should get involved.

LB, Virginia (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:35 PM)

Okay, I smell something and it is definitely NOT roses!

What is going on? I think we need to wait for the full investigation.

Lacey C. (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:35 PM)

I remember the Chinese military or hackers linked to the military hacking Pentagon websites. Even the DHS's website was breached before.
Is this what Bush meant by protecting America? Why won't our government have spent the $12 billion in Iraq war costs on domestic defenses and infrastructure protection, while you guys keep bashing at Obama for being anti-American? If you love this country, you should not have overlooked intelligence reports that Iraq did not possess a danger to America and that the Saddam-bin Laden link is absurd and you voted for the war anyway instead of strengthening America's domestic defenses. You cannot beat an enemy abroad without beating him at home.

Bull the Dog (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:39 PM)

Chaos at Fox New

Even their own supporters and viewers are going to get sick of this story line.....I guess Fox New and Joe Scarborough have been giving their talking points to keep this story going....

And hopefully with Gods Will and the American's Peoples intelligence this all will backfire against those who continue to push this story.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/21/mayhem-at-fox-news-ancho_n_92743.html

Chaos at Fox New (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:42 PM)

Obama supporters remind me so much of Loyal Bushies:

The Bush adminstration is an incompetent failure; it's the Clintons' fault.
The Bush adminstration is an incompetent failure; it's the Clintons' fault.
The Bush adminstration is an incompetent failure; it's the Clintons' fault.
The Bush adminstration is an incompetent failure; it's the Clintons' fault.

Are any of Barack Obama supporters actually Democrats? Or do Democrats just not like winning the Presidency?

Jan, Nashua, NH (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:42 PM)

Instead of turning this into a "he said" "she said" event, why not look at the big picture? Anyone who has a passport with their social security number in this system could be having their identity stolen by some unknown person copying down pertinent information. If it takes 3 months to notify a senator who is a candidate for president, how long would it take or do they EVER notify common ordinary citizens of the breach? As I see it, there is NO reason for anyone other than people with the highest security clearance to EVER access this file. Don't direct your anger on anyone outside the State Department. This should be a congressional investigation as well. Barack Obama is right - the old systems and old politics just aren't good enough anymore!!! We count on our military to protect us from al-Qaida, but who protects us from Washington bureaucracy?

JM08- Iowa (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:52 PM)

Get real (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:56 PM)

Hey Mox, perhaps you could give us a little insight into why Hillary Clinton moved to NY to run for Senate there ...

Judi, Pueblo, CO (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 1:59 PM)

Hold your horses and stop jumping to conclusions. There are some simple things that can be checked to ascertain whether this is innocent or not.

1) Were the contractors informed that snooping the records was a firing offense? They certainly should have been after the first incident.
2) Were the records merely looked at or were they copied?
3) Were other records including non high profile ones looked at.
4) Does the computer give a warning before allowing access to the monitored files?
5) Did the know the accesses were being logged.

Anyone who proceeds knowing they are likely to be caught and fired is certainly being motivated by something other than curiosity.

nuanced (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 2:05 PM)

Jan, Nashua, NH:

This Barack Obama supporter is a Democrat, as so many of his other supporters are too, but we are disgusted with the shenanigans of Ms Hillary trying every trick in the book to steal the nomination.

We would love to win the Presidency, however, Ms Hillary is not making it easy. Never in my life have I ever heard a candidate, from either party,for the nomination disparage another party member as has she and her campaign. We are now to the point where we believe nothing she says. How anyone would want a two faced double crossing individual as their nominee much less as their President is beyond me. Have none of her supporters any values, any pride. ??

God help us all

gm hussein, Jupiter, Fl (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 2:08 PM)

Jan, Nashua,
The problem with you is that you DON'T know how to do fact checking. You grossly overlooked Hillary's lies and actions. If you can please sit down and compare each candidate's records and then match them agaisnt Bush, you'll recognize how much you are insulting your intelligence. You simply cannot link Bush with Obama or Hillary or McCain without poisoning your perception and being overly biased in your analysis.

Ron Hussein Allen (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 2:09 PM)

All these people were employees and unless they were being trained to call up people at random the employee in 2007 should have been fired and the supervisor who didn't report it up the line should be fired in all cases.

Rufus Gibbons Washington DC (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 2:10 PM)

The State Department needs to fix the training program. Trainees should not be accessing live data. I am sure that this will be fixed fairly soon.

The other four breaches are more serious - I know that any time that I have done business with the government I have had to sign both a privacy and nondisclosure agreement. Both carry penalties for violating - termination and possible prosecution.

It will interesting to see how this all plays out.

OBwan, IN (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 3:18 PM)

The State Department took disciplinary action against three people (two firings and one suspension) because Obama's passport file was breached three different times.

So what makes the Obama incidents more serious than Clinton and McCain's?

Perhaps someone should ask the supervisors responsible for the two firings and one suspension.

Jose Meras, Houston, TX (Sent Friday, March 21, 2008 3:24 PM)

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