The US State Department apologised today after three of its workers snooped into the passport files of presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she called Senator Obama to apologise for the unauthorized access to his computerized passport file by three department contract workers, two of whom were fired over the incidents.
"I told him that I was sorry and I told him that I myself would be very disturbed if I learned that somebody had looked into my passport file and therefore, I will stay on top of it and get to the bottom of it," Ms Rice told reporters.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
A State Department spokesman said she "had expressed the same sentiment" to Senator Clinton and would when she speaks with Mr McCain.
Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton are locked in a heated battle for the party's nomination to meet the presumptive Republican nominee Mr McCain in the November 4th presidential election.
The department is investigating the actions of the three workers - who officials said appeared to act independently and without any political motive - and contacted the Justice Department about the inquiry as a precaution in case any laws were broken.
The breaches were detected by internal State Department computer checks. Some records, including those of high-profile people, are "flagged" with a computer tag that tips off supervisors when someone tries to view the records without a proper reason.
The incident is an embarrassment to the Bush administration and revived memories of the controversy in 1992 after State Department officials searched former President Bill Clinton's passport and citizenship files when he was the Democratic presidential candidate.
It is not clear whether the employees saw anything other than the basic personal data such as name, citizenship, age, social security number and place of birth, which is required when a person fills out a passport application. Bill Burton, a spokesman for Mr Obama's presidential campaign, called the incident "an outrageous breach of security and privacy."
Earlier today, Mr Obama received a coveted endorsement from a key Democrat, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
Mr Richardson's decision is a blow Ms Clinton, who had sought his backing in part because the Hispanic politician could garner support among Hispanics, who could be a key voting bloc in November.
Hispanics, the fastest-growing segment of the electorate, largely backed Ms Clinton in nominating contests on "Super Tuesday," with exit polls showing her winning two-thirds of the Latino vote in several states.