Verizon admits Obama's cell records were violated

Yesterday, Verizon Wireless issued a statement that "a number" of its employees accessed US President-Elect Barack Obama's personal cell phone account without authorization.

"The account has been inactive for several months. The device on the account was a simple voice flip-phone, not a BlackBerry or other smartphone designed for e-mail or other data services," Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam said, "All employees who have accessed the account -- whether authorized or not -- have been put on immediate leave, with pay. As the circumstances of each individual employee's access to the account are determined, the company will take appropriate actions. Employees with legitimate business needs for access will be returned to their positions, while employees who have accessed the account improperly and without legitimate business justification will face appropriate disciplinary action."

The company does not detail the exact number of employees who illicitly viewed the President-Elect's account information, nor does it forecast how many times his number may have been distributed.

"We apologize to President-Elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day," said McAdam.

5:50 pm EST November 21, 2008 - This afternoon, CNN reported that employees from Verizon Wireless were fired today, for having breached Pres.-Elect Obama's private phone records. The exact number of employees was not given, though a VZW spokesperson told the network that no text messages could have been read through the limited information the employees accessed.