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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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 Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 12:49 pm Post subject: Sandy Berger Admits Taking the Classified Docs |
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from Drudge:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/politics/01berger.html?ex=1112936400&en=b1370b971165a3b2&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY
| Quote: | Ex-Clinton Aide to Admit Taking Classified Papers
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: April 1, 2005
WASHINGTON, March 31 - Samuel R. Berger, a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and give up his security clearance for three years for removing classified material from a government archive, the Justice Department and associates of Mr. Berger's said Thursday.
A respected figure in foreign policy circles for years, Mr. Berger has also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine as part of an agreement reached recently with the Justice Department after months of quiet negotiations, the associates said.
He is expected to enter his plea on Friday in United States District Court here, capping an embarrassing episode that reverberated in last year's presidential campaign.
Mr. Berger was a senior policy adviser to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee, and was often mentioned as a possible secretary of state in a Kerry presidency. But he quit the campaign abruptly in July after accusations surfaced that he had inappropriately removed classified material from a secure reading room at the National Archives.
The material involved a classified assessment of terrorist threats in 2000, which Mr. Berger was reviewing in his role as the Clinton administration's point man in providing material to the independent commission investigating the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Officials with the Archives and the Sept. 11 commission ultimately determined that despite the incident, the commission had access to all the material needed in its work.
When the issue surfaced last year, Mr. Berger insisted that he had removed the classified material inadvertently. But in the plea agreement reached with prosecutors, he is expected to admit that he intentionally removed copies of five classified documents, destroyed three and misled staff members at the National Archives when confronted about it, according to an associate of Mr. Berger's who is involved in his defense but who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plea has not been formalized in court.
The Justice Department, without discussing details, acknowledged that Mr. Berger had said he would plead guilty to a misdemeanor count for the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.
Mr. Berger, 59, was unavailable for comment Thursday. In a statement, his lawyer, Lanny Breuer, said that Mr. Berger "has cooperated fully with the Department of Justice and is pleased that a resolution appears very near."
"He accepts complete responsibility for his actions, and regrets the mistakes he made during his review of documents at the National Archives," Mr. Breuer said, adding that Mr. Berger "looks forward to putting this episode behind him very soon and continuing his career of public and private service to this country."
It is unclear what impact the case will have on Mr. Berger's future in government. While the plea agreement requires him to give up his secret security clearance for three years, it allows him to have it reviewed and restored within that time if the government asks him to serve on a panel or in another position with access to secret material, associates said. But some political analysts said the case against him, which Republican leaders seized on last year in accusing him of imperiling national security, may have made him unemployable in government in the short term. He is currently chairman of a global business strategy firm.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail, but the plea agreement, which must be approved by a judge, does not call for jail time.
The criminal charge stems from Mr. Berger's removal of documents from the National Archives on two occasions during his review of material for the Sept. 11 commission.
On Sept. 2, 2003, in a daylong review of documents, Mr. Berger took a copy of a lengthy White House "after-action" report that he had commissioned to assess the government's performance in responding to the so-called millennium terrorist threat before New Year's 2000, and he placed the document in his pocket, the associate said. A month later, in another Archives session, he removed four copies of other versions of the report, the associate said.
Mr. Berger's intent, the associate said, was to compare the different versions of the 2000 report side by side and trace changes.
"He was just too tired and wasn't able to focus enough, and he felt like he needed to look at the documents in his home or his office to line them up," the associate said. "He now admits that was a real mistake."
Mr. Berger admits to compounding the mistake after removing the second set of documents on Oct. 2, 2003, the associate said. In comparing the versions at his office later that day, he realized that several were essentially the same, and he cut three copies into small pieces, the associate said. He also admitted to improperly removing handwritten notes he had taken at the Archives, the associate said.
Two days later, staff members at the Archives confronted Mr. Berger, and he now admits to misleading the Archives about what had happened. He indicated that the removal was inadvertent, and though he returned the two remaining copies of the report, he said nothing about the three he had destroyed, the associate said. |
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RogerRabbit
Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 05 Sep 2004
Posts: 748
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | The charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail, but the plea agreement, which must be approved by a judge, does not call for jail time. |
What else would we expect for treason - NO JAIL TIME
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"Si vis pacem, para bellum" |
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LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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Aw c'mon, it was an honest mistake. He just forgot that he stuffed so many classified documents down his pants, accidentally. Besides, he returned MOSTof them, didn't he?  
Had it been a Republican, there would be several ongoing Congressional hearings, impeachment proceedings and you name it. The leftstream media would be raising caine and every 5 minutes, there would be breaking news alerts that something new was found.
But, there's no bias
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GM Strong
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 1579
Location: Penna
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 2:20 am Post subject: |
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From Rush's site. About nails it.
 
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8th Army Korea 68-69 |
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kate
Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:18 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | give up his security clearance for three years |
color me naive, but why did this guy still have a security clearance? Are they for life?? And with this misuse of said clearance, maybe he should have lost it permanently?
anyone have some insight on this security clearance issue?
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one of..... We The People |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:15 am Post subject: |
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Kate,
I don't get it either. After the Walker Bros. all clearances were pulled and re-certified with strict 'Need to Know' protocols. So many Clintonistas failed to pass background checks I think they rewrote the rules. The three years thing is so he can come back to help that other document thief, Hillary in '08.
If I remember, Deutch lost his job and clearance for taking work home on his laptop with no criminal intent. Go figure.
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"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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Jim Geraghty at Kerryspot said it well!!
http://www.nationalreview.com/tks/059656.html
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“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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If you'll permit a personal story -
I arrived in Seoul, Korea in 1953 bearing an active security clearance of Top Secret - Restricted Data having just served at the Nevada Test Site in nuclear weapons testing. My orders from 8th Army were to send me farther north to a forward positioned unit.
That was OK with me but I felt it my duty to remind the powers-that-be of the existence of the clearance since it was policy that no one with that level of clearance was to be closer than 50 miles from front lines. Their answer was simple and elegant: "Oh, we revoked your clearance." And off I went.
Once returned from Korea, and a background check done for the time I was in-country, the clearance was reinstated and I went back to work.
The Berger case is bizarre to say the least. Presumably, Berger can go to work for the Hildebeast campaign in 2008 with a national security clearance, having confessed to stealing top secret documents from the National Archives.
Beam me up, Scotty!
Schadow
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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GM Strong
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 1579
Location: Penna
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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What this tells you is just how much regard the Clintonistas have for Security and how important they think it is. Not Very much (unless it is about them).
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8th Army Korea 68-69 |
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FreeFall
LCDR
Joined: 13 Aug 2004
Posts: 421
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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| The spin they are putting on this is that these were copies of documents. What I read elsewhere is that these were copies with his notes on them that he "accidently" put in his pants AND socks. Such as when capturing Bin Laden was discussed during the Clinton Adminstration, he wrote "NO". |
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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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| FreeFall wrote: | | The spin they are putting on this is that these were copies of documents. .... |
Virtually all classified documents are copies and contain the same classification and warnings as the originals. It's likely the White House Chief of Staff passed around copies of the bin Laden memos for comment. Berger no doubt was searching for the copies marked with negative recommendations (including his own) to steal and destroy.
He should be under the jail.
Schadow
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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Apparently Burlar destroyed two of five copies of a Richard Clark after action report on Y2K terrorist threats. It was the Clintonista's margin notes, not the report itself he was after. They must have been none too flattering to the "Legacy" of Bill & Friends.
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Ohio Voter
PO2
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 360
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 2:15 am Post subject: Re: Sandy Berger Admits Taking the Classified Docs |
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So what do you think was in the papers he destroyed? I remember at the time some speculated that Burger was helping Clinton white wash his role enabling the terrorist to carry out the 9/11 attack on the towers.
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tony54
PO2
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 369
Location: cleveland, ohio
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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He said it was an "HONEST MISTAKE", why does no one believe him.
I guess we don't know the meaning of MISTAKE!
I guess we don't know the meaning of HONEST! |
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Tanya
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 13 Aug 2004
Posts: 570
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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Outrage: Something that offends one's sense of propriety, fairness, or justice
April 3, 2005
by Geoff Metcalf
"Berger was the guy who was reportedly slated to be John Kerry’s Secretary of State if the unthinkable had occurred and Kerry had won the presidency. As Bill Clinton’s National Security Advisor this guy was at the nexus of the malfeasant, incompetent intelligence gathering and analysis that contributed to 9/11."
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/m-n/metcalf/2005/metcalf040305.htm |
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