Update: Crazy data-entry specialists! A State Department spokesperson is claiming the security breaches into Barack Obama passport information, which occurred on three separate instances beginning January 2008, stems from the "imprudent curiosity" of a pair of data entry contract workers, who have since been fired. A third has been disciplined.
Maura Harty (right), was the supervisor in charge at the time, according to reports by Keith Olbermann. Harty was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay by Bill Clinton in 1997—not that they're necessarily, you know, still in touch or anything.
Obama's camp called for and is receiving a full investigation. It's obviously completely plausible that someone somewhere requested the snooping, but even if that's proven not to be the case, there's still the little matter of who and what these contractors said of the files to drinking buddies after the fact.
You might recall a scandal from 1992, when a similar thing happened after then-President George H.W. Bush had the files of then-candidate Bill Clinton peeked at. Bush had even taken the dig overseas, persuading John Major to snoop into Clinton's UK records. What are pals with full-security access for if not a little recon? More certainly to come ...
Earlier: Unfortunately, I have theater tickets tonight, but stick around, we'll have someone look into this. It's probably gonna be good. [Drudge]