CNN: They Were Digging for Dirt for Dirty Tricks in Obama's Passport Files

Let's not put the best spin on it. Let's assume the worst. Enemies were looking for ammunition to smear Obama. Until disproven, that is the thesis that we should accept.

State Department: Someone snooped in Obama's passport file

* Story Highlights
* NEW: Three separate contractors looked at file three times since January
* Campaign spokesman: "This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy"
* Obama camp calls for complete investigation into the breach
* State Department says two contractors were fired; a third was disciplined

(CNN) -- On three occasions since January, Sen. Barack Obama's passport file was looked at by three different contract workers, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

The contractors accessed information in the file in an unauthorized way, he said.

Two contractors were fired and one was disciplined by the contractor's company, McCormack said.

He said the contractors are not linked.

The State Department hires contractors to design, build and maintain their systems and help employees with searches. McCormack said two of the contractors in the Obama case were "low-level" personnel and the other was in a mid-level position with no management role.

The breach seems like "imprudent curiosity" among the contract workers, said McCormack, adding that senior management at the State Department was not aware of the incidents until Thursday afternoon. Breaches occurred January 9, February 21 and March 14.

Obama's campaign is asking for a complete investigation to find out who looked at Obama's passport file and why.

"This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton in a statement.

"Our government's duty is to protect the private information of the American people, not use it for political purposes."

The White House declined comment Thursday evening, just hours after the State Department upper management learned of the breach.