The State Department announced that Ann Barrett, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for passport services, and a career civil servant, is leaving her position effective today, although she remains employed in the department.  This comes just two weeks after the agency admitted that the passport files of all three major presidential candidates had been inappropriately accessed by contractors working in the State Department, two of whom were fired for acting on their curiosity. 

The State Department spokesperson denied there was any link between Barrett's departure and the scandal, asserting that this was merely normal employee turnover. 

"I wouldn't ascribe it to any individual incident," said State Department spokeperson Tom Casey. "There are management changes that go on in this bureau and consular affairs and others all the time," Casey said.

Of course, it's not "all the time" that  State Department employees get the chance to root through the citizenships, ages, Social Security numbers, and places of birth of presidential candidates.  That job is usually reserved for the media!