McCain Campaign May be Investigated for Breaking Federal Law

The story concerning Barack Obama's aunt and her illegal status was broken with perfect timing. With just days before the election many believe it may be a disgusting ploy by the McCain campaign.

The Associated Press cited two unnamed sources - one a federal agent - when they broke the story of an Obama aunt living illegally in the US, after being denied asylum from her native Kenya. Now, the Department of Homeland Security announced that they are investigating whether its privacy policy was violated.

Federal privacy law restricts U.S. immigration agencies from disclosing information about citizens and permanent residents. The Department of Homeland Security also has some privacy restrictions concerning the status of legal and illegal immigrants, although asylum-seekers are granted greater protection, due to the sensitive nature of their claims and the risks of retaliation.

"They are looking into whether there was a violation of policy in publicly disclosing individual case information," said Kelly Nantel, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, "We can't comment on individual cases."