The passport files of 2008 presidential contenders Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz., were breached earlier this year, according to the State Department.
(ABC News Photo Illustration)
A study by the Office of Inspector General generated a list of 150 prominent Americans, including politicians, athletes and celebrities, and found that 127 of them had their records accessed at least once. The results also showed that each of those records was accessed 4,148 times. Nine individuals had their files accessed at least 100 times, including one individual whose files were accessed 356 times.
State Department officials could not say how many of those were accessed for valid reasons and said it was "possible but unlikely" that they were all authorized.
In response to the controversy, Consular Affairs cut the number of individuals with access to passport files and increased the number of oversight monitors. The department also fired four people found to have improperly looked into the presidential candidates' files, and another was fired for other snooping breaches.
Citing privacy restrictions, the State Department would not name which other individuals' passport files were breached.
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