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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| US election rivals files breached | US election rivals files breached |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The passport files of the three leading US presidential candidates have been improperly accessed, the state department has said. | The passport files of the three leading US presidential candidates have been improperly accessed, the state department has said. |
| A state department employee looked at the files of both Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic front-runner Barack Obama, the department said. | A state department employee looked at the files of both Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic front-runner Barack Obama, the department said. |
| State department spokesman Sean McCormack said a trainee also accessed Hillary Clinton's file last year. | State department spokesman Sean McCormack said a trainee also accessed Hillary Clinton's file last year. |
| Two state department contractors have been fired and a third disciplined. | Two state department contractors have been fired and a third disciplined. |
| "In the case of Senator McCain, we detected earlier this year... one of the same people who accessed Senator Obama's passport file also accessed Senator McCain's passport file," Mr McCormack said. | "In the case of Senator McCain, we detected earlier this year... one of the same people who accessed Senator Obama's passport file also accessed Senator McCain's passport file," Mr McCormack said. |
| That contract employee had been reprimanded but not fired, he said. | |
| Personal details | |
| Earlier on Friday, Ms Rice said she had apologised to Mr Obama about the breach of security regarding his passport file. | Earlier on Friday, Ms Rice said she had apologised to Mr Obama about the breach of security regarding his passport file. |
| She said a full investigation was under way. | She said a full investigation was under way. |
| A spokesman for Mr Obama suggested that the government could be using private information for "political purposes". | A spokesman for Mr Obama suggested that the government could be using private information for "political purposes". |
| The Obama campaign raised the possibility of political motivationThe spokesman, Bill Burton, denounced "an outrageous breach of security and privacy", and called for a full investigation. | |
| Mr McCain said any breaches of passport privacy called for an apology and a full investigation. He said "corrective action should be taken". | Mr McCain said any breaches of passport privacy called for an apology and a full investigation. He said "corrective action should be taken". |
| Passport files in the US contain personal data such as age and place of birth, as well as a person's foreign travel record. | |
| They also contain an individual's Social Security number, which can be used to obtain credit records and other personal information. | |
| Access tracked | |
| After Ms Rice announced on Friday that she had apologised to Mr Obama for the breach of his passport records, Mrs Clinton's senate office released a statement saying Ms Rice had told her that her passport file was improperly accessed in 2007. | |
| State department spokesman Sean McCormack then confirmed that the files of all three presidential candidates had been looked at. | |
| Speaking of Mr Obama's file earlier, Mr McCormack said it was not clear what the employees may have seen or what they were looking for. | |
| The Obama breaches occurred on three separate dates - 9 January, 21 February and 14 March. | |
| The state department tracks those who access its passport database. The unauthorised viewings of Mr Obama's file were noticed at a lower level, Ms Rice said, but senior management was not informed. | |
| The incidents were only brought to the attention of higher officials on Thursday by a reporter. |