While Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) network reporters and anchors were quick to pounce on Donald Trump’s private tax returns being released, they didn’t seem to express the same concern when candidate Barack Obama was having his personal information looked into.
Back in 2008 when it was revealed that Obama’s personal passport information was being examined by Bush administration State Department officials the terms “skullduggery,” “political dirty tricks” and “bombshell” were being thrown around.
On the March 21 edition of NBC’s Today show, Matt Lauer and correspondent Andrea Mitchell examined the “firestorm”:
“MATT LAUER: Let’s begin, though, this morning with the firestorm of controversy after these three State Department employees were caught spying at Barack Obama’s passport files. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell has the latest overnight developments on this story. Andrea, what is the latest?
ANDREA MITCHELL: Well, there is so much going on, Matt. Good morning. Today, top State Department officials are meeting with department lawyers before reporting to Barack Obama’s Senate office. But so far they have no explanation for three separate unauthorized breaches into the senator’s passport file by contract employees.
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Two contract employees were fired, one was disciplined. But although department spokesman Sean McCormack said that the violations were merely the result of imprudent curiosity, not political dirty tricks, under questioning, officials admitted they had not yet even begun to investigate the motives or the timing of the breaches.
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A person’s passport files can include a treasure trove of personal information, and passing that information on can be a criminal offense. In the 1992 campaign, the first Bush administration was accused of illegally accessing candidate Bill Clinton’s passport files and that led to a three-year special counsel’s investigation. No one was ever charged. Thursday night, Obama spokesman Bill Burton called the violations an outrageous breach of security and privacy.”
More at Newsbusters
Of course, when it’s Trump it’s OK.