FED INVESTIGATES

Leak about Obama’s aunt

11-03-2008 | AP

Panama Star WASHINGTON. The government is investigating whether any laws were broken involving details about the disclosure that Barack Obama's aunt was living in the country illegally.

The Associated Press learned late Friday that Obama's half aunt, who is from Kenya, was ordered to leave the United States years ago after an immigration judge denied her request for asylum.

The woman, Zeituni Onyango, is living in public housing in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama's late father.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked its inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility on Saturday to investigate whether any policies were violated when information about Onyango's case was publicly disclosed, ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said. The Homeland Security Department, which oversees ICE, cannot disclose details about an individual's immigration status.

Information about Onyango's case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release, just five days before the presidential election. Obama's campaign strategist David Axelrod said people are suspicious about stories that surface so close to an election.