Who's Maura Hardy (Harty?)? According to MSNBC, she might be involved in Passportgate.

[Colobo]

Who's she?

[Avalux]

1. Apparently Ms. Hardy is a former ambassador under Clinton.

That's what MSNBC is reporting at least.

[Colobo]

3. Mmmm!

[Joe the Revelator]

14. Uh-Oh!

[Yupster]

25. I went to school with her from kindergarten to 12th grade

Big time Democratic activist from Democratic family. I was shocked when she was promoted under Bush. Apparently she was well liked by Colin Powell.

[Avalux]

27. Someone who would fervently support Hillary?

Just wondering.....and very interesting you went to school with her. :hi:

[Yupster]

40. Honestly can't say

Haven't spoken to her in 25 years.

[PM7nj]

2. Maura, not Laura.

[Colobo]

4. Thanks.

[better tomorrow]

5. and of course Clinton has his own version of Passportgate...

important thing to remember....

[Exilednight]

7. They had to learn somewhere.

[ThatBozGuy]

12. The Clinton Campaign group definitely showing signs of Stockholm Syndrome

Ms Clinton's political operatives have been running the same playbook that Mr Bush ran against Mr Clinton page for page against Mr Obama.

A study into these politics, would make a very interesting case of Stockholm Syndrome impacting the Clinton campaign. They are definitely taking on the views and and process of those that attacked them in the 90s and repeating them today.

Mr Obama 2008 campaign = Mr Clinton campaign 1992 Young hope against the political dynasty,
MS Clinton 2008 campaign = Mr Bush's campaign 1992 Experienced politically savy incumbent against young upstart candidate.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

6. Appointed ambassador to Paraguay in 1997

Currently works under Patrick Kennedy Jr. at State.

Presumably, the fired subcontractors were over-seen by her office (?)

The nexus, as intimiated by KO, was not clear.

[Colobo]

10. Mmm... thanks for the info. Do you think this is something big or not?

I trust your analysis and judgement.

[stop the bleeding]

15. Check this out

She retired at the end of Feb. the 2 people who did it while she was there were fired, the 3rd, not

It was said earlier that "there is something different between the first two events and the third one". I forget which talking head blurted that out.


So, perhaps the difference was that those 2 worked under ... umm.... Her.... and the 3rd one didn't.


It may also be why we learned about the 3rd one so quickly, it was only a week ago, not 2 months.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5184124&mesg_id=5184324

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

21. No way to say.

There's nothing I've heard to make it a meaningful connection. We are talking about someone who has worked in the Bush State Dept. for 8 years, so I don't know to what degree she's a Clinton loyalist. But I do know somes Dems at State. I don't know if she's an appointee or a civil servant. Probably the later.

I would think she would be in a better position than any sub-contractor to get the data without tripping any safe-guards. If she wanted Obama's records she'd just get them.

Because of the move to require passports for Mexico and Canada there have been an incredible number of private contractors handling passport stuff to deal with the volume.

My hunch is that she has nothing to do with it, but I reserve the right to be wrong. The total number of people with potential access is going to be in the hundreds or thousands.

And the Bush administration has hired zillions of Republican friendly companies to do sub-contract work.

We will see. I put nothing past anyone... as you know, I am a cynic.

I would lean more toward Republican shenanigans based on anything we know... the attempts at access are after Obama became a real possibility for the nomination. I can see the pugs not even worrying about Obama until after Iowa. (Clinton would have been worried about him much longer... if these were from last summer it might look different.)

As a general rule, though, anything that happens in the executive branch today is Republican until proven otherwise.

[JMorgan]

37. The Bushes and The Clintons

She's an appointee, and there was some amount of controversy
getting her through confirmation.

But she's the perfect Bushie, in that whatever department in
the government they can't destroy through intentional
corruption, they destroy by putting incompetents in charge.
Harty is either a willing lieutenant, ready to fall on the
sword for her masters (Bush or the Clintons) or she's another
"Heckuva job, Brownie".  It really doesn't matter
which one she's serving or how she's doing it - They're both
the same.  It's for a plutocratic government, controlled by
one of their own. 
http://aftermathnews.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/bush_clinton_kennebunkport.jpg

Parents of abducted children organized to block her
confirmation in 2002 as the new visa chief: 
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=M2Q5OGU2MjViYzc4OWE0N2U4MzRlZjE2MmQ2ZmEyMDc=

Then she continued the Visa Express program with Saudi Arabia
after 9/11:
http://www.bigpicweblog.com/exp/index.php/weblog/comments/is_maura_harty_endangering_us_national_security/

[KittyWampus]

38. thanks for the info. She's another white person failing upwards

[AntiFascist]

39. Wow, thanks for this and welcome to DU!

A State Dept. official who favors Saudi foreign interests over American. I hope this information gets to Olbermann - definitely a lead worth following. This is the crime family nexus that needs to be explored much more fully.

[Coexist]

8. is this her? Moira Hardy?

http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/us_passports_visas/index.html

I’m not good at crystal ball gazing but it seems to me that although the State Department managed to get its act together enough to play passport issuance catch-up over the past six months to the point where the wait-time is reportedly four to six weeks for regular processing and no more than three weeks for expedited processing, whether this will last is something else again. Why it took Congressional pressure and media criticism to force State to clean up the mess last summer is beyond me – but nevertheless, the outside pressure is clearly what made the difference.

State’s new Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy, Moira Hardy, the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and everyone else involved should thank their lucky stars this holiday season that Congress put its foot down and told the administration and its recalcitrant Department of Homeland Security to postpone the full implementation of the Western Hemisphere Initiative (WHTI) until June 1, 2009 or later - like it or not. At least someone has some common sense.

When the WHTI is fully implemented everyone who crosses the US borders by land or sea as well as air will be required to have a valid passport or a “smart card.” This could quadruple the number of American passport holders and yet again inundate the passport agencies unless the State Department is prepared to ramp up its passport issuing office capacity substantially yet again between now and then.

Why DHS’ continued urging that this final piece of the law be implemented sooner rather than later is beyond me. Exactly how many of the 9/11 hijackers, for instance, came into the country sans passport and across a land or sea border from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean? Not one. If I remember correctly they entered on questionable student visas issued by private American flight schools where they learned to take-off but not land. Who exactly monitored that rather bizarre behavior – where was the FBI when we needed them? I’m also not convinced that a piece of paper makes a difference in the overall scheme of things. Then again, it’s not exactly as if we don’t have our home-grown terrorists either – think Oklahoma City bombing. What does seem to make a difference, however, is strong intelligence work and alert border officials. That’s where I’d put my money if I lived in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW.

I suppose, however, if a would-be terrorist happened to cross the US border by foot sans passport, it would make DHS look bad. Frankly, I think this passport-by-land requirement is foremost nonsense and essentially a bureaucratic CYA game – but that comes from my cynical nature having worked for the U.S. government for 27 plus years and having experienced more than my share of terrorist alerts, scares and disasters overseas.

[Penndems]

19. It's "Maura" not "Moira", and she's a Democrat, as well as a career Foreign Service Officer

The Bush Administration had to put her someplace where she'd have minimal contact with the Seventh Floor, so they stuck her in Consular Affairs.

[Coexist]

22. I wonder why the article spells her name Moira?

[Penndems]

29. It's a typo. Somebody didn't do their research.

n/t

[Yupster]

41. Just wondering?

Could it be a Spanish version of Maura. She spent quite a bit of time in South America.

[Coexist]

delete dupe

[DJ13]

9. Maura Hardy, Assistant Secretary of Consular Affairs for the State

[Unsane]

11. "she," not "her"

[Colobo]

16. English is my second language. Sorry for the mistake and thanks for the help.

[Unsane]

20. No problem.

I had a hunch you are ESL.

[Colobo]

32. Is it that easy to spot?

:hi:

[apocalypsehow]

13. *Kick* for additional info.

:kick:

[Barack_America]

17. Maura Harty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maura_Harty

Seems to have been somewhat inept (issues looseness in granting visas, passport delays, etc.). She also recently, and perhaps conveniently, retired.

[Wickerman]

18. "Secure Borders, Open Doors"

http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/0207/ijpe/harty.htm

Maura Harty
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs

Current Visa Issues

Visa processing by the U.S. State Department is carried out by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, an organization of some 8,000 people working in 211 embassies and consulates around the world, in Washington, D.C., and in two visa processing centers in the United States. We are charged with thoroughly and fairly adjudicating immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for citizens of foreign countries who seek to come to the United States. In performing this function, we play a key role in enhancing U.S. border security while facilitating legitimate travel to the United States.

America's approach to visa and immigration issues reflects our history and our common ideals. The United States is a "nation of nations" and has always welcomed visitors from all over the globe. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in her confirmation hearings, reaffirmed the department's commitment to that tradition when she said:

Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue, and America must remain open to visitors and workers and students from around the world. We do not and will not compromise our security standards, yet if our public diplomacy efforts are to succeed, we cannot close ourselves off from the rest of the world.

Secure Borders, Open Doors

The context for current visa procedures is, quite simply, September 11, 2001. On that terrible day, when so many Americans—and citizens from 90 other nations—lost their lives, we saw the lengths to which some would go to do us harm. We had to act swiftly and decisively to address our nation's border security needs and make America safe for our citizens and our foreign visitors.

While security must always be our primary concern, we must also ensure that our country's doors remain open to those whose presence we encourage and value. Welcoming visitors is central to U.S. national security. Last year some 50 million foreign visitors accounted for $104.8 billion in spending and other economic activity in the United States. International students contribute an additional $13 billion each year.

The United States welcomes international visitors because we know that the best advertisement for America is America. The best way for foreign visitors and students to understand America, to truly appreciate our country and our people, is for them to see America with their own eyes. The understanding that comes from such exchange is priceless. Visitors return home usually with positive impressions of the United States based on first-hand experiences, rather than third-hand stories.

The challenge of securing our borders while keeping our doors open is not an easy one, but these objectives are not mutually exclusive. We must and we can do both. Every day, consular officers around the world are on the front lines of the Global War on Terror and actively implementing our policy of Secure Borders and Open Doors.

more, if you care...

[Tatiana]

23. I hope not, but then again you never know.

Official apology form the nation's passport mess. It comes from Assistant Secretary of State Maura Hardy, she's taking the blame for the backlog of the U.S. passport applications. She says she regrets the problems it has caused for Americans traveling abroad this summer and hopes to get the wait times back to normal six weeks by the 30th of September.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0707/23/ltm.02.html

[slinkerwink]

24. ah

[mth44sc]

26. Well lets see now...

W's crowd never learned a thing about this 'til today.

Its all Clinton's fault

I'm an Obama supporter - but hell folks

Doesn't it seem to you that this is just one more time they chose a mement to screw with us.

The reporters question that supposedly lit the candle came feom the Washington Times.

Just exactly who is zoomin' who...

And why?

[Strelnikov_]

34. Exactly

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5183521&mesg_id=5184460

Why would the Reich have even opened this can of worms, if they didn't already know what was inside.


Personally, I smell a frame.


The only thing that does not fit is the timing. Why now? Seems like a few months from now would have made more sense.

[jefferson_dem]

28. Maura Harty. Selected by Clinton as a Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department in 1995

Harty was selected as a Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department in 1995 and subsequently served as Executive Assistant to Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Following that assignment, she became the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay.

http://www.zimbio.com/Maura+Harty+-+Department+of+State

Gobs of info - http://www.google.com/search?complete=1&hl=en&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2006-40%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=Maura+Harty+&aq=f

[Penndems]

30. Every word is true. I remember it well.

n/t

[malik flavors]

31. It's possible Hardy didn't want to get too involved so she just allowed it to happen..

instead of doing it herself. Then she fired the contracters so that they couldn't be asked any questions.

There are more ways out by doing it that way. If she had done it herself all arrows would have simply pointed at her.

It's also interesting that the 3rd contractor tripped the alarm wires. Was Maura involved in helping the first 2 get passed those hurdles?

Did the 3rd attempt it and got caught, and then was immediately reported by the new person that had replaced Maura?

[JanusAscending]

35. NO,

the first two got caught, and were fired, the third caught is under suspension until it's investigated.

[Johnny__Motown]

36. Do we know the timeline here? When they were caught and when they were fired, and by whom

[bilgewaterbill]

33. Ooooh. There's a shock.

[muriel_volestrangler]

42. Winner of the 2008 Thomas Jefferson Award, from American Citizens Abroad

American Citizens Abroad (ACA), a Geneva-based organization serving the interests of overseas Americans all over the world, announced today the winners of the 2008 Thomas Jefferson Award. This distinction honors State Department employees who have given exemplary service to American citizens residing abroad.

The 2008 winners are Maura Harty, former Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, and Michael Parmly, Chief of Mission in Cuba.
...
Americans overseas are especially grateful to Maura Harty for her dedicated efforts on their behalf while Managing Director of the Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services, where she created the office of Children's Issues, and during her most recent position as the head of the U.S. Consular Service. Her aid in working to resolve a wide range of problems specific to individual Americans abroad and her willingness to meet and discuss with representatives of the American overseas community how to improve the relations between the overseas Americans and the U.S. Government are greatly appreciated.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/3/prweb761914.htm

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

43. kicked and recommended

:kick:

[City Lights]

44. FWIW, David Shuster was on Ed Schulz and said she's been contacted

for comment, but is not returning phone calls. Camera crews were at her house in Maryland this morning too, but neither she nor her husband appeared.