Condi Rice's State Department Spies on Barack Obama?

Operatives from one of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's web of privatized contractors within the State Department, which includes Blackwater, on at least three occasions scrutinized Barack Obama's passport information probably in search of something that could be used against him politically in some unforeseen way, and provide ammunition for well-timed leaks.

The political nature of this latest episode is clear from the fact that the dates of the breaches were January 9, February 21, and March 14, which correspond with the New Hampshire primary, the Democratic debate in Texas, and the day the Jeremiah Wright story became major news.

If Rice's State Department had its "security" breached when Obama's passport information was pilfered on January 9 then why didn't it set off alarm bells right then and there? Why wasn't this first breach brought to her attention and an investigation launched?

And why were two other breaches able to occur on February 21 and on March 14?

The episode represents a major security breach of a VIP who is currently running for president, which raises the question of whether or not the Bush White House was informed of this violation of Obama's privacy rights.

Are we to believe that these contractors "routinely" combed Obama's passport information without recognizing the fact that he is currently a presidential candidate?

Was it just incompetence like when Condi Rice missed the President's Daily Brief of August 6, 2001 entitled: "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the United States?" Or is it something more sinister like Karl Rove cooked up for the Justice Department and the politicization of the U.S. Attorneys?

Congress must begin its own inquiry into this potentially grave abuse of federal power. We cannot allow the federal machinery to be used in political warfare.

The Hillary Clinton campaign also has some explaining to do since Maura Harty, who was President Bill Clinton's ambassador to Paraguay, resigned her post with the Bush State Department between the second and third breach of Obama's passport information.

Comments

[jayj]

Mr. Palermo:

The CEO of the company whose employee improperly accessed the Obama file is a consultant to the Barak Obama Campaign. He advises on foreign policy and intelligence and recently conducted a media briefing on Obama's behalf. He contributed $2,300. to the campaign in January. (CNN)

Asst. Sec. of State Maura Harty was a 27 year career professional at State, not a Clinton appointee. Her ambassadorship was a promotion consistent with that Department's career track and was not a political reward. SHE DID NOT RESIGN her post. She announced her retirement in Nov. 2007 on the fifth anniversary of her swearing in, and retired in February, 2008.

[yoyotom1]

Dear Mr. Palermo,
It seems to be an inconvenient truth that you have left out some of the most important parts of your research and facts about this issue. "The State Department investigation into how and why the passport files of three presidential candidates were breached is scrutinizing an employee at a Virginia-based company, which is headed by an adviser to Barack Obama"s campaign." So, it really turned out to be a sub-contracted company to the State Department that was liable for the security breech. A focal point for the ongoing investigation is "The third employee, who has not been fired, worked for The Analysis Corporation (TAC), which is headed by John O. Brennan, a former CIA agent who is an adviser to Mr. Obama's presidential campaign on intelligence and foreign policy." (Washington Times) "Calls to the Obama campaign about Mr. Brennan were not returned." (WT) So where is the tie to Blackwater, Condi's office Maura Harty and the White House again? And why not return phone calls just to clear up the issue. It's time for this media outlet to take off it's uber liberal kaleidoscope and report facts and not paranoiac theories.

[kaafir]

The CEO of one of the companies linked to the improper access to the passport files of presidential candidates is an adviser to the Obama campaign. Mmm. Interesting. I had suggested before that the breach was a deliberate act by those acting on behalf of the Obama campaing, a deliberate act intended to create a controversy and to be used when Obama was sinking in the polls.

[jayj]

Per CNN " The CEO of a company whose employee is accused of improperly accessing the passport files of presidential candidates is a consultant to the Obama campaign, a source familiar with the firm said Saturday.

John Brennan, president of The Analysis Corporation (TAC), advises the Illinois Democrat on foreign policy and intelligence issues, the source said.

Brennan briefed the media on behalf of the campaign earlier this month. The executive is a former senior CIA official and former interim director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He contributed $2,300 to the Obama campaign in January.

[nancytheragingliberal]

This must be investigated by outside sources. That Condi the Liar is involved and is not to be trusted. This is a political debacle that got unearthed and their lies are paper-thin that even an I.Q. of 50 can detect that. I doubt that anyone will be held accountable. Just look at Cheney/Bush....There is nothing happening there for the 7 years they have been sticking their fingers in the eyes of Americans.

[PennP]

What I've heard is that Clinton's file was breached during a training exercise, when the trainee was directed to pull an application--a family member was suggested, and the person decided to pull Clinton's instead. To me, suggesting a person pull a family member's data is pretty questionable in the first place. Why is that not seen as a security breach? What entitles one family member to another's data? Why they don't have dummy apps in the files for this purpose I don't know, but I'm getting the sense that the administration of this department is pretty slack. At least it's likely they'll pursue the Maura Harty angle, since if she can be connected to it, it'll go against the Clinton camp instead of discrediting Rice's management. You can't have everything, I guess.

[kwahlin]

how about Joe Wilson weighing in on this one...

[oracle99]

Obama just called for an investigation of the incident. He is right to do so becaause all of the talk of the 2 other breaches is just a "smokescreen to conceal why and what they were doing in his file.

[GiggidyGeshmoygen]

obama's records were breached 3 times in 3 months by 3 different people

then, only after condi's state dept. is busted, does she decide to announce that clinton and mccain had their records breached as well ?

GIVE ME A BREAK !!!!!!!!

how long did it take for condi to get on the phone with rove and come up with this effort to diffuse the situation politically ?

just now, as i write, cnn is headlining the story this way

"obama, clinton and mccain passport records breached" which is a very different story than

"obama passport records breached"

[GuinnessJ5]

So where's the beef? This administration (and how many before it?) has the FBI, the CIA, the DEA, the State Dept., Homeland Security, the Justice Dept., etc., etc. all doing its bidding - some more involved and eager than others. It is no secret except to the die hard Bush zombies that after almost eight years of Karl Roverian methods (similar to Machiavelli's in days gone by) that this administration (Nixon's, too) has politicized these so-called independent agencies and will continue to do so until this corrupt crowd draws its last breath on January 1, 2008..

[oracle99]

I can't wait. People that remember the USA when it upheld the Constitution are sick of these crooks and liers.

[Decipherer]

Your post does a disservice to Niccolo Machiavelli, quite frankly, who never himself engaged in such dirty tricks, at least as far as we know. He was a political philosopher, not a Nixon-Bush bagman.

Anyway, whatever the "beef" and its relative state of decay, whether such illegal violations of privacy performed by any administration at any time must be vigorously investigated, rooted out, and the offenders tried and punished, if the law requires.

As for the date this Bush-Cheney syndicate draws its last breath, we can only hope it was January 1, 2008 -- that would mean that we should be saluting President Pelosi! That would have meant that Congress had actually grown a spine (or some other anatomical feature) that enabled it to have impeached and removed these criminals from office.

Oh, well. We can dream, can't we?

[apresdeluge]

I propose a new theme song for the Obama campaign........"Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep".

[JoeyP]

According to Allen Raymond, the former GOP strategist/operative -- whenever one of their sleazey Republican clients had donations from crooks they'd make sure the same crook gave a little money to their Democratic opponent so they could say" "See, he gets money too from that crook!" Thereby neutralizing the bad press -- that's what they probably did with the McCain passport story, make it look like McCain's passport got breached too so they can claim it wasn't "political." But what we know about the Republicans is that everything they do is political -- US Attorney, Homeland Security, NSA spying, fear and smear, god, gays and guns -- Rove should be in prison, not advising the McCain campaign.

[oracle99]

I agree the other breach statements were fabricated... .... so that it would appear unimportant. What Condi fails to acknowledge is that it's a Federal Crime....and what's going to be done ? She is such and idiot...no qualifications for this position...just a yes woman for Bush.

[indypete]

Good heavens, Joey, don't you watch fox news? Its only the dems who do things for political purposes! The repubs are all about God and country and truth. Listen tp limbaugh, you'll understand then!

[JoeyP]

I don't believe that McCain's passport was breached too -- I think that's just a device to make if appear that it's not the Republicans behind this search for damaging stuff to use against Obama -- these hypocrite Republicans who see black helicopters and hate the UN and don't trust the government to run the public school down the street, when their boy is in power they defend federal bureaucrats spying on American citizens without probable cause and federal bureaucrats going into a foreign country and remaking it in some weird way -- I wish they would just be consistent for once, either you don't like government spying on you and "nation building" or you do like it -- but don't just shift all of your pathetic beliefs just because you got your boys in power -- if you really believe in your heart that Bush and Cheney have been anything but a total disaster for the nation then you are lacking the neurons necessary for critical thought. The banana I ate for breakfast has a higher IQ.

[oracle99]

Condi Rice & Beans is concoting this story to cover up the real story. She allowed someone to access a Obama's files.So know she claims that 2 other peoples files were also breached.How many times were their files breached and when? This fabricated story smells of another buglary that became a national scandal.

[resonate]

This is revealing of the deep seeded corruption in our administration that stretches through the Bush and Clinton families and their corrupt power structures in Washington. We cant let these people back in the white house. We will only be headed down the same road of fear, under education, blind mindless mass media and war. Obama is my only hope....

Obama 08!
Watch videos of Obama on all kinds of issues PLEASE:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=900C5EDCAF3C292A

[gnorrfa]

does condi do anything? we know she's got her bony arse perched on one of a large variety of excercise machines for hours a day, but other than that, what does she do? she flies around the mideast for photo ops and absolutely nothing happens. her office must be a gym, complete with swimming pool. what does this woman do?

[oracle99]

She buys a lot of shoes too! That's where she was when 911 briefing was taking place.