NPR: Clinton Campaign: Rice Says Her File Breached Too

Clinton Campaign: Rice Says Her File Breached Too

The Clinton campaign says that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told Sen. Hillary Clinton that her passport file was breached in 2007. The campaign says Clinton will be briefed on the breach.

Last night, news emerged that two state department contractors had been fired, and one suspended, for looking at Sen. Barack Obama's passport files. Rice apologized to Obama personally today.

--
Update: Two's company, but now it appears there is a crowd of candidates who've had their passport files breached. The Associated Press reports that all three of the remaining presidential candidates have had their passport files breached. 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 breach regarding Obama's records and a separate search was conducted.

The suspended employee who viewed Obama's file also looked at McCain's. "We are reviewing our options with respect to that person and his employment status," McCormack said.

Further Update: NBC's David Shuster is reporting that there were three different types of breaches.

(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.

11:55 AM ET | 03-21-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Why does the Clinton campaign take it upon themselves to announce that. Rice is in a better position to tell us, besidesit still does not negate the fact that it is serious and must be properly investigated and the people and who they are doing this for outed.
Why Clinton's interest???????? kitchen and sink???????

Sent by Ty | 12:06 PM ET | 03-21-2008

I suppose Rice's apology is all that is needed and everything is fine now. Maybe Nixon would not have faced impeachment if he had just apologized for Watergate...

Sent by Martin Green | 12:25 PM ET | 03-21-2008

Well, we don't need Woodward and Bernstein to figure this one out. The historically appropo analogy of placing political officers in an organization to ensure adherence to the party line seems apt enough, replacing competence with religious fervor.

Sent by Chester | 12:52 PM ET | 03-21-2008

Why would anyone expect anything else of this Administration? Round up the usual suspects...

Sent by Mark Gary Blumenthal, MD, MPH | 12:57 PM ET | 03-21-2008

As expected, the kneejerk responses by the BDS sufferers is once again completely wrong.

Seems like a couple of dopey morons goofing around at work, looking at whatever their curiousity points them to for the day. Happens all the time.

Sent by deek | 1:49 PM ET | 03-21-2008

oh that outsourcing to the so-much-better-and-more-efficient private sector proves its mettle again (add it to the contractors in iraq serving up bacteria laden waters to soldiers, bilking us all on costplus, the private airport security on 9/11).

of all chimpy??s blunders, it is the not-to-be-pestered-by-pesky-facts insistence on the private proft doubleplusgood, big guvmint bad bad meme that has cost us the most. now THERE is a gospel and faith issue calling for questioning sumbuddy's judgement.

so many accountability issues, so few grown-ups around to answer them.

Sent by tim in exile | 4:40 AM ET | 03-23-2008

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