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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BEEF JERKEY who wrote (703379)	9/22/2005 3:43:44 PM
From: PROLIFE	Respond to of 769670

SCHUMER VIOLATES LAW ............................................................. Feds Investigate Schumer's Obtaining Steele's Credit Report... Lieutenant Governor Expects Recipients To Face Prosecution WBAL September 21, 2005 thewbalchannel.com BALTIMORE -- Federal prosecutors have opened an inquiry into allegations that two Democratic National Committee employees illegally tapped into Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's credit history. WBAL-TV 11 News reporter David Collins reported the workers obtained the report in July while executing opposition research on the lieutenant governor. In June, the Republican lieutenant governor announced he had established an exploratory committee to explore a candidacy for the U.S. Senate (Full Story). Paul D. Ellington, Steele's chief of staff, issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon in reaction to the allegations. "Lt. Gov. Steele was extremely disturbed to learn about the alleged criminal identity theft of his personal finance records by (a staff member of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.,) at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "He was notified by the FBI that a federal criminal investigation is under way and has been asked not to comment on the specifics of the case. "He intends to honor this request and expects that those responsible for these actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." According to the FBI, two Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee employees illegally obtained Steele's credit report. According to the committee, Katie Barge and Lauren Weiner, working on opposition research in July, found Steele's Social Security number in a court document and used it to obtain his credit report. "It's extremely unethical," said Evan Hendricks, the author of "Credit Scores Credit Reports." "This is a case of a couple very bright researchers, so smart, ending up doing the stupidest thing they could have done." Hendricks, a privacy expert who has written books on the subject, said that without authorization, those snooping would have had to misrepresent themselves. "There's lies involved one way or the other. The law is very clear on this," Hendricks said. Collins reported that the two employees have since resigned and committee officials said they have destroyed the document. The committee said they have immediately reported the incident to the Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney's Office, and have since issued an apology. "While the DSCC did not authorize the employees to access Mr. Steele's credit report, we regret that this incident occurred and apologize to Mr. Steele," DSCC spokesman Phil Singer told 11 News. Singer's statement continued, in part, by saying "the DISC also launched an internal review into this matter, ascertained that it was an isolated incident and has put safeguards in place to ensure that no employee ever does this again." Matthew Crenson, a professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University, spoke about opposition research, saying credit reports could provide opponents with some embarrassing material, including "past bankruptcies (which may be questionable), great large debts (and) suspicious expenditures." Collins said it's no secret that Steele was in financial trouble before being elected lieutenant governor. Steele publicly disclosed in 2002 his personal debts that included an unpaid political loan. Stay with TheWBALChannel.com and WBAL-TV 11 News for the latest updates from Annapolis.