No More Incumbents Blog

The revelations of the State Department covering up improper access by contractors into Barack Obama’s passport, travel and consular report information was not the first time the US State Department under the Bush Administration has take political sides against the Senator.

The State Department previously denied the Senator from attending a meeting in Indonesia until the State Department could line up a Republican Senator to make the trip jointly with Barack Obama.  Their move stalled his trip and denied him the high profile event.

The State Departments latest political ploy seems to come right out of the cover up play book.  After the first two security breaches, the State Department promptly fired the contractors.  On the surface this looks like a punishment, but as soon as the State Department fired those contractors, the government lost all jurisdiction at the State Department level to question the contractors about their actions.  Those contractors can now hide behind lawyers and the 5th amendment and will never have to explain their actions or come clean about what they were doing, why they were doing it, nor what they did with the illegal information that they obtained.

Of course, the Bush administration is very experienced at keeping quiet itself whenever a legal process is under way and they know that the best way to keep a legal process continuing is to keep it in the courts for as long as possible. 

1. They therefore appear to have engineered to hire contractors, who could be fired. 
2. Allowed those contractors to gain access to sensitive private information about a Senator and Presidential Candidate. 
3. Then they fired the contractors such that the Inspector General would not be able to question them nor investigate them. 
4. They conveniently ignored the transgressions for 2 months and would have ignored them further if something had not gone wrong on March 14, 2008 when it happened a fourth time.

Regardless, the Bush Administration has a long history of not shedding light on any transgressions.  The State Department has proven to be extra inept and extra political over the last 8 years and it is doubtful that Secretary Rice even garners any respect from her own staff since they did not even report this latest security breach up the chain of command.   Even if Secretary Rice had a stake in shedding light on this situation, which she does not, she seems to lack the ability to command her own Department.  She couldn’t illuminate anything at the State Department even if she ordered a 1,000 points of light from Murray Feiss let alone run an investigation into the wrong doing under her watch.

It is extremely likely that the Justice Department will enter into an investigation by next Monday if not before the week is out.

During a State Department press conference on March 20, 2008 it was revealed that Secretary Rice did not learn about the Barack Obama passport security breech until after a reporter contacted Rice’s State Department spokesperson.

This is a correction from our previous report that indicated that Rice was notified on March 19, 2008.

Breaking News - Obama Security Breeched at State Department | No More Incumbents Blog

No one within Rice’s department or chain of command reported these incidents to her through normal channels.

It would now appear that the even on March 14, 2008 will be central to future investigations as that event triggered the public disclosure of these issues.

Unlike many of the sex scandals that have taken over the headlines recently featuring babydolls costumes, prostitutes, and marital infidelities,  and unlike the anti-American rhetoric and conversations about race triggered by the Obama camp, this event has serious political intrigue questions and incompetence at the heart of the event and will likely trigger a long term uproar.

Over the last three months Senator Barack Obama’s private passport information has been accessed improperly by members of Condoleeza Rice’s State Department.

3 separate events people at the State Department accessed Senator Barack Obama’s passport record.

Barack Obama’s Passport records were breeched on

• January 9, 2008
• February 21, 2008
• March 14, 2008

2 people were contractors that were fired

The third person has not yet been fired but has been disciplined.

Actions after Breeches

Monitoring system was tripped when high profile personnel passport files are breeched.

Condoleeza Rice was notified on March 19, 2008 and stated that the systems and the processes worked appropriately.

It would appear that Secretary Rice nor anyone working for her took this seriously enough to contact Barack Obama personally and immediately after the breech in security.

This raises many questions as to why Rice was not notified in January and why no investigation into the pattern of breeches is taking place.

An official from the State Department placed a routine call about the issue to Barack Obama’s Senate office on March 20, 2008, six days after the third breach.

Major Related Events

In 1991, an independent counsel was established to investigate the George H Bush administration when Governor Bill Clinton’s passport files were breeched - supposedly to look into Bill Clinton’s travel history. Some people were looking to see if Bill Clinton had visited Moscow as a student.

It is not illegal for the access to take place unless information from the file is disseminated. If dissemination takes place, then it is protocol for the Justice Department to be notified to consider a criminal investigation by the Inspector General, an office that is currently vacant and being run by a Deputy Inspector General. The Justice Department currently indicates that there is no criminal investigation taking place.

Privacy Act Violations can be criminal when information is passed along.

Minor Related Events

Several months ago, the State Department was under fire for not processing passport applications fast enough. At that time a number of college interns were even brought in to process paperwork.

Reasons Why Notifications should have taken place

• Barack Obama is a national figure
• Barack Obama is a US Senator.
• Barack Obama is a front runner for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Potential Information in the File

• Information about Barack Obama’s travels while in public office.
• Information about Barack Obama’s travels while living in Indonesia.
• Reports by consulate officials in relation to Barack Obama during all trips abroad.
• Reports by consulate officials about Barack Obama’s mother as a cross reference when Barack Obama was a minor living over seas.

Time to Fire Up an Independent Counsel

It would appear, like a bad scene in Forest Gump,that we are headed for yet another independent counsel investigation.  The Bush Administration will likely be strapping up their skate shoes tonight and hoping to navigate the mine fields of once again failing to control sensitive information on their own watch.  It should surprise no one that if the Bush Administration can not keep their own CIA operatives, keeping a Senators passport files safe or even your information safe is not possible.  The level of incompetence seems to know no bounds.

The Democratic Party has officially and publicly lost their mind.  They have decided that Florida and Michigan voters are not worth the time or trouble.  Both states and the Democratic Party have decided to ignore voters and they will now opt for a backroom deal to determine which Democratic candidate is really good for the people of these states.

Florida Cheap SOB’s and Party Big Wigs

Florida initially thought they could run a new Democratic Primary for $1.5 million.  Then the price doubled to $3m, only to jump to $5 million and then $15 million and ultimately they said it would cost $50 million and $50 million was too much money to bring Democracy to Florida.   The State of Florida, the Democratic Party and the Candidates are all apparently too cheap.  They might be willing to drop millions of dollars on ads, and hotels and even some directbuy furniture from a Boca furniture store but empowering the people of Florida to choose their candidate for one of the most important Presidential Elections in 100 year is too expensive.

Apparently Florida is too much of a quagmire and it would be easier to keep funding a push for Democracy in cheaper regions like Iraq as opposed to Florida.

Michigan Stuck in a Catch 22 with Obama Camp and Neither Can make a Decision

In Michigan its not about the money, its about making Barack Obama happy.  The State government and the Democratic Party were unable to come to terms with the Obama campaign.

You know the ones that are supposed to be able to bring people together and make change.  Apparently the Obama style of change is to not show up on time to get their name on the ballot and then refuse to negotiate with the State so that all Michigan voters will lose their voice in the Democratic Primary.  That’s definitely a change, maybe they will solve National voter turnout problems by just throwing out the concept of elections all together in 2012.  Who needs elections when you can just skip them and do a backroom deal?

The State of Michigan would not pass a resolution to do a re-vote (mostly after they learned that Florida could get away without having an election too.  Before that Michigan was on the fast track to have a new primary.) because lawmakers wanted the King of Michigan to bless their legislation before they voted on it and signed it into law.  You may wonder who the King of Michigan is, well its Barack Obama.  Michigan wanted Barack Obama to tell them that their legislation was acceptable before they would put it up for a vote and pass it into law.

The last time I checked, the State of Michigan, its Congress, Governor and Constitution make absolutely no mention of a 4th leg of government known as the King of Michigan in the form of Barack Obama but that did not stop the state from getting stuck in a stalemate with this all powerful new branch of Michigan government.

Biting Democrats in the Rear in November 2008

Apparently Democrats have forgotten that Florida and Michigan too are very important states.  All states are important, but you would think that the Democrats would not want to thumb their nose at the Democratic voters of Florida that delivered the popular vote to Democrats in 2000.  If Democracy is just too hard to accomplish for the Democratic party, maybe they are not the right party to steward the US Constitution for another 4 years.