U.S. airs details of Obama aunt's case

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BOSTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Barack Obama's aunt was granted U.S. asylum because "reckless" release of information to the media exposed her to persecution in her native Kenya, papers show.

The immigration judge who made the ruling three months ago based his decision on the fact an anonymous federal official's disclosure of information could mean heightened threats of persecution in her native country, The Boston Globe reported.

The written decision detailing the reason for the grant of asylum to Zeituni Onyango had been kept secret under federal privacy laws, but critics of the decision have charged she received preferential treatment.

The written decision, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, shows Immigration Judge Leonard I. Shapiro felt a federal law enforcement official's public revelations about her case catapulted Onyango into the spotlight in a "highly publicized and highly politicized manner'' just days before Obama's election in November 2008.

The publicity and her status as Obama's aunt are central to Shapiro's 29-page decision.

Shapiro wrote that the anonymous Bush administration official's leak to the media was using confidential information for political purposes and was a "clear violation of federal regulations.''