I believe the passport file included the entire history of the person's foreign travel, not just the recent travel.

Just a quick note to wish to all a happy Easter weekend. Now where are the cats? :-)

One advantage to having Hillary as president is that she would likely extend to all Americans the same impenetrable shroud of security for private information that she has successfully maintained for her tax records.

Clinton's file was accessed in 2007 and apparently was the result of a training error. McCain once, on the same day Obama wa's last accessed. In Clinton case, no one was disciplined. In the later case with McCain and Obama, the person was disciplined. In the two earlier Obama cases, the individuals were summarily fired.

I think this information was released to bolster the State Department claim that these were curious folks, nothing political or nefarious. Except the two folks getting fired, I'd be inclined to believe them. But you don't fire someone for that. Reprimand, maybe. Fire, not just for being curious. Something else happened.

Last I looked, this is where the story stands. An unnamed reporter e-mailed a State Department official, setting off the revelation about intrusions into Obama's files. Revelations of the other breaches came after Obama's were revealed. At present, the stories about the intrusions into the three candidates' files are similar, but with an important distinction: the reporter was asking about Obama, not Clinton or McCain.

It's a pretty safe bet that more is hidden than is visible right now.

I am guessing that they contain the expired old passports and visas that you turn in when you renew your passport.

I remember in 1992, this happened to Bill Clinton. Rush Limbaugh railed for weeks leading up to the election that a page was missing from one of his passports when he was studying in England. Rush implied that it was missing to cover up the fact that he had gone to Russia to conspire with the Soviets. As stupid and bizzarre as that sounds, I think they were propably looking for the same type of info (if it was a campaign operative doing the search). Just something slightly unusual that they can smear innuendo around.

gross. but that is the game that we allow to be played.

The passport file lists their social security numbers. Once you have that, you have much.

Dick Cheney was feeling bored late at night, there was nothing good on cable TV, so ...

I work in IT at a hospital and people here have been fired for looking at someone's electronic medical record for seemingly innocuous reasons (e.g., looking up a colleague's birthday). If the State Department treats security seriously, they will fire someone no matter what the reason for the breach.

Reason to believe the Clintons were behind breaching Obama's passport files. From Daily Kos

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/20/204156/493

"Second, remember that the Clintons still have strong ties inside the government. There is no reason to think that this is a Condi Rice, Bush, and Cheney issue. I am not trusting anyone on this. At least not until we learn much much more."

For those too young to remember, George H.W. Bush (a/k/a Bush the Elder) rifled Bill Clinton’s passport file in 1992 and used the fact that Clinton had visited the Soviet Union as a college student to insinuate Clinton was a “Soviet mole� – expect the same treatment for Obama. This is standard operating procedure for the filthy Bush crime family. Democrats should launch a full-scale invesigation to find out who is behind this (and I am hearing Rep. Waxman is already on the case). If the Democrats in Congress had done their Constitutional duty and impeached this worthless bastard after the Downing Street memo became public, we wouldn’t be watching history repeat itself again!

It'd be interesting to see whether the McCain breach correlates with his win in New Hampshire, back when it seemed that a more palatable ultra-conservative candidate (Romney/Huckabee) would get the nod.

And this is why I'm against warrantless wiretapping. Any yahoo with access can look at whatever they want for whatever reasons they want.

This is pure speculation, but if I were placing a bet, my money would be on the knuckle-draggers in the Giuiliani camp buying off low-level contract workers for information in the files.

Anyway, what's in a senator's passport file? It's not as if their travel plans are secret, so what else is in there?

Social security number, address, mother's maiden name.

Lotsa stuff that would make identity theft very easy. And if you wanted to create mischief, ID theft could that didn't even involve stealing money/credit could be interesting.

And I'll bet you that they probably also breached Inkblot's passport file too.

Kevin, you'd better make certain his identity isn't going to be stolen, so warn the credit agencies now.

Passport File

(Warning: if you are not authorized to read this, please look away now!)

"Name: Barack Obama."

"Born: Honolulu, Hawaii, 8/4/1961"

"Status: U. S. Citizen"

"Countries Visited: Indonesia; Kenya; England; Germany; Russia; Ukraine; Azerbaijan; the U. N."

"Frequent Flier Miles: 75,000+"

"Removes shoes properly: yes"

"In-Flight Preferences: Chicken Teriyaki, Snak Pak, Pepsi (with the whole can), extra pillows"

"Average bathroom visits per 4hr. flight: 1.73."

"Sets of luggage we have stolen from him: 3"

"Terrorist Connections: don't even get me started"

"Compiled by: U.S. State Department, Delta, TWA, Virgin Atlantic, and Halliburton"

"Approved by: Dick Cheney"

It could be that McCain's breach is a cover for breaching Obama's. That allows for the "they broached McCain's too so It CAN'T be anything nefarious or unfair" story.

As for the Kos theory mentioned above, I'm now wondering if there is anything negative in this campaign that has not been blamed on the Clinton's. I sure hope Obama doesn't get cancer.

The Inspector General has no authority/power over the fired individuals (the two who accessed only Obama's records). We won't hear from them.

Does anyone even remember when bush said in reference to the Valerie Plame outing that as soon as he found out who was responsible he woulod fire or guillotine the bastards or something to mthat effect.

What happened? Absofucking nothing. Every day something new bubbles up from the slimepool that bush and his cronies have a part in. We're not talking about wacky conspiracy theories or innuendo but verified factual evidence of incompetance,subversion of the constitution and outright lies.
It's time for all americans to get together and throw the yoke of these criminals off of us.

But if they don't search the passport files, how are they supposed to unearth the trips to Afghanistan too meet with his militant Muslim extremist allies?

I sure hope Obama doesn't get cancer.

If so, someone, somewhere, will put her next to him when he lit that first cigarette.

It's my understanding that a citizen's passport file would also include any information regarding contacts he or she might have had with consular officials in the foreign countries he or she may have visited. So, in Bill Clinton's case, for example, if he had asked an embassy official in the old Soviet Union what it would take to become a Soviet citizen, that would have appeared in his file. Of course, he never did such a thing (so far as I know).

An applicant's mental state is in the passport file, as given by references. McCain is in big trouble.

I think that people's private lives should be private, and that you shouldn't be allowed to peek into someone else's privacy just because the information is only a mouse-click, a database-check or whatever away, and therefore or don't think any claims about "mere curiosity" are particularly exonerrating.

Just a quick note to wish to all a happy Easter weekend. Now where are the cats? :-)

I'll drink to that!

OTOH, I wanted to weigh in about the security nightmare of all of our current Presidential candidate's passport files being breached. It will surprise me if further study doesn't reveal all the candidate's records have been breached before it's over. Why would we believe Tancredo or Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich would be exempt, or Ralph Nader's information has been left alone.

My understanding is that there is plenty of information in their passport files, like social security numbers, home addresses, parents full names and addresses and that of some other family members, lots and lots of stuff. But more importantly, I think, is whom the government is making this information privy to. When they say contract employees, are they not referring to temps? Are these positions not just the sort to be infiltrated by people who want to get money for information or "dirt" on politicians or for that matter, any bigwig or fatcat? Are they not subject to firing all the time for any reason anyway? In other words, are we not putting highly sensitive information in the hands of people who know they are considered expendable? Is this not just begging for trouble?

This is typical Bush Administration stuff: create a government that is so incompetent that the incompetence is unavoidable and too obvious not to notice, and then rail about how government cannot be the answer to anyone's problems and basically, cannot be trusted. Keep in mind, these are the same people who want access to all of our private conversations on the internet, on phones or faxes, all electronic transmissions. I can't think of any department or program within this administration that has not been corrupted or its effectiveness not destroyed as a result of its association with Bush. EPA, FEMA, DOJ, State Dept., you name it. The only question will be, will we survive until this plague is gone.

Jumping 'round the Rightwing sites, I know at some point there was a meme about Barry Dunham converting to Islam and changing his name to Barack Obama. That would be in the file because he started international travel at a very young age. Of course, I mean, it would be in there if it weren't malicious rumor.

A passport file would likely include all the documentation used to qualify for the passport as well as all entry/exit records (if you use your passport to re-enter after a drive to Canada or Mexico, for example), embassy and consular contacts, and pictures. For recent years there will also be entries for domestic air travel if you use your passport as ID to get your boarding pass. It's possible that they also include notes and musings about the holder by embassy/consular/other government personnel overseas.

This is transparently oppo research by some slimy 527 smearing operation; maybe something closer to a campaign, but I lean more toward a political-operative "unafilliated" thing operating in the shadows. Innocent? That has to be proven, since the pattern is a bush family one.

What amazes me is that the plants evidently weren't smart enough to bypass the access-violation alarm and got caught. That fact, BTW, further inclines me to think it was a 527-type thing. Real pros would know enough not to get caught, and contract people who didn't have ulterior motives would have believed their supervisors about the alarm.

For recent years there will also be entries for domestic air travel if you use your passport as ID to get your boarding pass.

I don't think this is true, is it? They don't scan or note the numbers of one's ID for domestic travel; they simply look at the ID.

"When they say contract employees, are they not referring to temps? Are these positions not just the sort to be infiltrated by people who want to get money for information or "dirt" on politicians or for that matter, any bigwig or fatcat?" - Ann in AZ

Ann, calm down. Most people who work in government, and even in the military, are contractors. This is because to get around "big government" what government has done is lessen the actual number of people it employs and instead has hired large corporations to manage and oversee employees who perform the duties that former government employees do.

Most contractors are screened and undergo a background check prior to being hired. Those that would have access to sensitive information such as passport information most likely have some sort of clearance, especially those working for State, and so undergo a really, really extensive background check.

Do all contractors run around with halos glowing over their heads? No. But the vast majority are not crooks and sincerely believe they have a duty to do a good and honest job.

Before getting all fired up over this, people need to wait to see what the motive was behind these contractors looking up passport files.
Let State investigate and report. I believe them when they say that they will do a thorough review.

The State IG apparently has no jurisdiction over the contractors now that they're terminated. Justice will probably have to be brought in--if it will agree to come in--for a thorough investigation to take place.

Honestly, this happens all the time at hospitals, utilities, and any other company that has private information on celebrities.

Investigate, certainly, but lets not blow this out of proportion.

One advantage to having Hillary as president is that she would likely extend to all Americans the same impenetrable shroud of security for private information that she has successfully maintained for her tax records.

Ah, the old Clinton/Gore rules re-emgerge. I don't remember you calling for John McCain to release his tax returns . . .

Two of these incidents happened om January 9 and February 5, respectively, and the staffers involved were dismissed afterward. Why did the media get its panties in a twist over this now, to the point where it shoved everything else aside to cover it yesterday?

Don't get me wrong, because this is not a good thing that happened. But there was no reason for CNN and MSNBC to stretch the story into three-plus hours of prime-time coverage, when a solid three-to-five minute report in the normal news loop should have sufficed. The other 180 minutes told us absolutely nothing new. I eventually put the TV on mute.

Ironically, during that same time, I turned to the BBC online, and was treated to a comprehensive feature story on Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles' global warming mitigation initiative, and his city's substantive efforts to reduce its collective carbon footprint. It was immediately followed by another detailed report on the conflating political corruption scandals currently enveloping the State of Alaska, and the unlikely alliance of maverick GOP Gov. Sarah Palin and State Senate Democrats to confront that state's entrenched Republican old boy network.

It's indeed a terribly sad commentary about the current state of affairs in our American media, when we have to turn to their British counterparts to learn about what's going on in our own country.

Donald,
The reason why it got so much coverage last night is because the Obama camp thought that it was only him who got tickled. Notice how it has died down since it has been reported that both Clinton and McCain got tickled too?

Altoid: "This is transparently oppo research by some slimy 527 smearing operation ... What amazes me is that the plants evidently weren't smart enough to bypass the access-violation alarm and got caught."

While it's an entirely plausible scenario, are you offering up any evidence on your part to support your contentions?

If not, then because these are very serious allegations, let's try to avoid becoming enmeshed in the weeds of own prospective speculation.

Of course, if this investigation gets turned over to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the above statement becomes immediately inoperative, and it's open season.

It got covered so extensively because last night was the first it was known to anyone official outside the mid-level State Dept office directly involved. And it seemed to be only Obama at that point. Not that it's any better to know that everybody's been snooped on.

About airports, what I've seen are scanners in front of the ticket counters where you insert your passport or another document to ID yourself and get your boarding pass and luggage tags. Newer passports have barcodes on them, which is what the scanners read. That's what I was referring to. If anyone thinks that information stays with the airline, I have a bridge I want to sell you. Carnivore is our reality.

Donald: No, I don't have any direct evidence that this was slimy oppo research. Given bush family history and MO, though, and their close association with Lee Atwater and his political progeny, I think it's a good bet. "Plausible" is the very word I'd use, and maybe "most plausible" is the way I'd describe that interpretation among all the possible ones. I'm glad you agree at least as far as "plausible."

I freely admit that my initial stance toward anything coming out of this administration, or about any of its minions, is suspicion, and therefore that I consider them guilty until proven innocent. I think that's the only rational stance. Look at the record. And it's okay, because I'm not a court of law, just a citizen with an opinion.

It's indeed a terribly sad commentary about the current state of affairs in our American media, when we have to turn to their British counterparts to learn about what's going on in our own country.

Their news hour in the morning contains twice the info you get from NPR's Morning Edition.

I also love their hard nosed reporters with their unabashed questioning style:

"Excuse me, but with all due respect, many of our listeners would view that statement as a load of crap..."

The passport thing is a major distraction concerning a minor incident. Anyone in this country who thinks they have any measure of privacy shouldn't be reading this blog (or any other).

Dick Cheney knows almost as much about you as Nike or Frito Lay.

It's my understanding that a citizen's passport file would also include any information regarding contacts he or she might have had with consular officials in the foreign countries he or she may have visited.

Maybe, and only if they're reported, as there's no requirement to do so (unless for a security clearance). Unless you believe that there is a mechanism for monitoring all such contacts independently, which is doubtful.

They don't scan or note the numbers of one's ID for domestic travel; they simply look at the ID.

I've never had mine scanned for domestic travel (and I do quite a bit both domestic and international). Some checkin kiosks can now scan passports for ID on all flights, but I doubt that info is going into a passport file (the TSA's database maybe).

I am guessing that they contain the expired old passports and visas that you turn in when you renew your passport.

Maybe they scan them these days, but you get your old passport back with a hole punched in it. Or at least that use to be the case (I have several of them).

My hunch: Altoid is on to something. 3 different people accessed Obama's records for political reasons. I wonder when we learn their names.....

I think this passport checking is largely effective, just like the secret terrorist lists. So what's the hubbub?

[tinfoilhat] My guess is the McCain breach is bogus, and was fabricated to throw off suspicion from the top two Dem contenders both having GOP oppo researchers hitting their files. [/tinfoilhat]

Do all contractors run around with halos glowing over their heads? No. But the vast majority are not crooks and sincerely believe they have a duty to do a good and honest job.

And then you have the INS contractors who were caught shredding 90,000 immigration and green card applications because they felt the backlog was unmanageable.

So, yes, color me one of the skeptics that this was a one-time freak occurrence by a few bad apples. We've heard that before.

About airports, what I've seen are scanners in front of the ticket counters where you insert your passport or another document to ID yourself and get your boarding pass and luggage tags. Newer passports have barcodes on them, which is what the scanners read. That's what I was referring to. If anyone thinks that information stays with the airline, I have a bridge I want to sell you.

Nope, I wouldn't suggest that that would stay with the airline. I travel pretty frequently, always use the self-check in and still have always had my ID not scanned but hand-checked by the airline employee tagging my checked bags. Am sure that will change as more airports switch over. That's why I asked for clarification--thanks.

the passport files they were looking at do NOT have entry/exit records or any information about where the person has traveled besides what s/he might have put on the passport application forms (there is a question asking where you intend to travel next).

they do have lots of personal information, including the SSN. as someone else mentioned, that's probably the most sensitive thing in there.

As for what information is stored in a passport file, I can only report from personal experience that it also contains information about when a passport has been issued, lost, reported stolen, the issuing agency, visas issued, and any other peculiarities that may have been noted by a US agent or official. I lived in Europe for many years, lost a passport, had a new one issued at a US embassy, and had to reapply for my work permit and visa in the country that I was living in using my new passport. Later my old and canceled passport turned up six months later when someone returned it to a US consulate. This was 12 years ago, but I am still frequently asked about this episode when reentering the US, and usually have my baggae searched by customs. I've been flagged somehow. All fairly innocuous.

However, when my passport is scanned it is amazing the level of detail with which an agent is able to reconstruct the last 15 years of my life. One question I almost always get is about a trip to Russia that I took in the late 90s. When I arrived in Moscow I was questioned about my lost passport and the subsequent reissue of a new passport at a US embassy abroad. They Russian authorities were also quite curious about the fact that I had been born in DC. I suspect that they thought that I was there in some official capacity under a civilian passport. They certainly did not have the level of detail that US authorities do, and my place of birth, the issuing embassy, and the fact that the passport was a replacement was clearly marked in the passport itself. However, this trip is one of the first things that US authorities mention and I can only speculate that on some limited level nations share travel data probably for international policing purposes.

What I can speculate about a breach of a Presidential candidate's info for political purposes may be to see (a) if there is an unflattering pattern to their travels, (b) if they have not been forthcoming with some of their travel history, like visiting Cuba by traveling through a third nation, (c) if they appear on a watch list or have ever been detained or denied entry for any reason, or (d) they just happened to be in a country when something of political importance happened (the guilt by proximity equation).

I don't think that there is terribly much of a nefarious nature in a passport file. The power resides not in the raw data itself but in the application or mining of that data. The human factor is all important. I think we will know lots more when we discover exactly who accessed the info and their intentions.

To: optical weenie on March 21, 2008 at 2:35 PM

I have two words for you; five breaches. I don't care what the intentions were of the people that breached the system nearly as much as I care about the fact that they were able to access the confidential information of all three of our presidential candidates through government open ports. This does not bode well for anyone else with any money or stature to speak of. In fact, it doesn't bode well for anyone with a passport, certainly, or for most citizens that worry that the government plays too fast and loose with our personal information, and has access to far too much of it.

Most contractors are screened and undergo a background check prior to being hired. Those that would have access to sensitive information such as passport information most likely have some sort of clearance, especially those working for State, and so undergo a really, really extensive background check.

Do all contractors run around with halos glowing over their heads? No. But the vast majority are not crooks and sincerely believe they have a duty to do a good and honest job.

What can be said for the government's "really, really extensive background check" if the confidential information of at least three VIPs that we know of is accessible and has been accessed by contractors and those contractors are still working for the government even though they obviously haven't got their people well enough trained not to try to access information that they are not supposed to have. Incidentally, these sainted, hard working contractors blew off the reporting procedures that were supposed to go to superiors in order to avoid future incidents.

It's ludicrous to say that the "vast majority are not crooks and sincerely believe they have a duty to do a good and honest job" when it only takes one person not to be that honest to interfere with an election or blackmail a rich person or sell info that will devastate someone's life to a tabloid. The fact that that person could end up in federal prison for the offense notwithstanding, innocent lives could still be affected adversely by lax government methods. It's inexcusable and unacceptable for the government to be so concerned about "big government" that they become careless and reckless in their methods.

Besides that, for all they profess to be concerned about "big government," the truth is, they've expanded government, while at the same time contracting out many jobs to profit making corporations that then add extra layers and thereby make it all the easier for identity thieves to access all our information. Bet you wouldn't be so dismissive of the possibility of damage if your own IRS file was involved, for instance. This is an exercise in utter incompetence. BTW, it's not "the" government that's the problem; it's "this" administration.

"It's indeed a terribly sad commentary about the current state of affairs in our American media, when we have to turn to their British counterparts to learn about what's going on in our own country." - Donald from Hawaii

You just found out about this today? American media is so attention-deficiency-impaired they could run a story about alien life being discovered, and segue into a missing dog leading itself back to it's owner for the next hour, impervious to the previous story.

Only in America could the same media report Barack Obama a closet Muslim, to a black militant Christian, and not so much bat an eye-lash.

"This just in: Up is down. Coming up, after the break: down is up. See you in five..."

"It could be that McCain's breach is a cover for breaching Obama's. That allows for the "they broached McCain's too so It CAN'T be anything nefarious or unfair" story."

This is correct. The McCain and Clinton breaches were dredged up or ginned up to provide cover ... why else was Obama's leaked and not theirs?

Boorring: "You just found out about this today?"

I was merely making a wistful observation. I wasn't born yesterday, you know.

Altoid: "I freely admit that my initial stance toward anything coming out of this administration, or about any of its minions, is suspicion, and therefore that I consider them guilty until proven innocent."

And considering their track record, you have good reason to do so.

Well, we're off to Maui. Have a safe and pleasant Easter weekend, everyone. May peace be with all of you.

Just joking, Donald, have a nice trip.

As best as I can figure it, a passport file includes: a.) proof you are who you say you are; and b.) lists which foreign countries you've visited and when.
The public has a right to know this very
information when it comes to presidential candidates.
Either enlist them all in Lifelock first or
black out part of the ss numbers and let us
see the damn files. NOW!

Donald from Hawaii: I was merely making a wistful observation. I wasn't born yesterday, you know.

Wistful? As in, yearning or desire tinged with melancholy? Wow! Let your born-yesterday child loose and face it Donald, you're a closet Obamazoid.

Presumably the Republican operatives who broke into Obama's file were interested in validating the general feeling that he has not been anywhere.

Don't forget there are many types of passports. Blue-tourist, brown-official, and black-dip.

I'm really amazed at how much of a dust-up this thing has been. I'd be surprised if all three candidate's credit card records are not accessed by curious bank employees just about every day. It's wrong, but it's too great of a temptation for some people to pass up.

The scandal in this thing is that State does not have a database of prominent individuals (Hollywood stars, serial killers, and politicians) against which it matches queries BEFORE the information is actually provided. The Social Security Administration has such a security system: why doesn't EVERY government agency?