The White House is looking into reports that details of President Barack Obama’s passport -- and those of other world leaders -- were accidentally disclosed by Australian immigration officials.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said Monday he could not confirm the breach, which was detailed by The Guardian newspaper. But he said the White House is looking into the reports and will “take all appropriate steps necessary to ensure the privacy and security of the president’s personal information.”
The Guardian reported that the personal details of world leaders attending the G20 summit in Brisbane last November were accidentally disclosed by the Australian immigration department, “which did not consider it necessary to inform those world leaders of the privacy breach.”
The newspaper said an agency employee “inadvertently sent the passport numbers, visa details and other personal identifiers of all world leaders attending the summit to the organisers of the Asian Cup football tournament.”
Those attending included Obama, Russian president Vladimir Putin, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese president Xi Jinping, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Indonesian president Joko Widodo and British prime minister, David Cameron.
Schultz said he wasn’t sure if Obama, who travels via Air Force, actually carries a passport when he travels.
“You’re asking a good technical question that I don’t know the answer to,” Schultz told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Boston. “But I’m happy to look into it.”
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