Updates below.

Olberman and many others are astounded by the news that Obama’s passport file has been snooped three times in the last few months. When it was revealed today following the latest snoop on March 14 the question was naturally raised by Obama: why wasn’t I told after the first time, and how did it happen three times? The State Department is claiming “imprudent curiosity.” Others are saying Not so fast there, Condi! Let’s have a little look-see first. Who was snooping? Were the dates of the snoops significant? [Jan. 9 -the day after the New Hampshire primary, Feb. 21 -the day of the Democratic debate in Texas, and March 14 the day the Wright story really hit. ] Is there any political connection? Maybe the snoops were just admirers… Hmmm, curious minds want to know…

Andrea Mitchell on Olberman’s “Countdown” adds the interesting fact that soon after Obama was elected to the Senate he received an invitation to visit Indonesia, his childhood home. The State Department delayed permission for him to go until a suitable Republican could be found who would also go! And the President cries crocodile tears about politicizing “everything.”

Update: Secretary of State Rice has apologized by phone to Obama for the breach. Nothing more seems to be known about those who opened up the Obama passport file, not even if they simply opened it, scanned it and closed it, or took extensive notes, or made photocopies of it. Nothing has hit the press about who they are or what their backgrounds are or what their motives might have been. Were they acting on their own or was money and direction involved? Lots still to know. Even simple things — like who is the reporter who caused the story to come out (by asking for comment from State) and how did he/she know about the prying eyes?

Greenwald makes two important points:

1) Obsessive Clinton-haters who are instantaneously insinuating that Hillary is to blame are as grossly irresponsible as those blind Hillary supporters mindlessly dismissing the significance of what happened due to hostility towards Obama or out of some petty concern that it might help him politically.

2) …incidents like the snooping into Obama’s passport file are not the exception, and are not even merely the rule, but are the pervasive and inevitable outcome of allowing government officials to spy on Americans without real oversight…

and goes on to write extensively about the nation of the spied upon we have become. Recommended.

Update II:

State now says that Clinton and McCain files were also snooped, though it appears with Clinton, quite incidentally, when a trainee at a training session typed in her name as a goof-off. More to come…

Print PDF