Some people here are commenting as if Sandy Berger got away with taking classified documents. In fact, however, he was charged. Prosecutors followed the common practice of giving him lighter punishment in exchange for a guilty plea.
Specifically, Berger was sentenced to: a fine of $50,000, additional payment of $6,905 for administrative costs, two years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and loss of his secuity clearance for three years. The plea deal let him avoid prison time. He later surrendered his law license rather than face bar disciplinary action.
He took five papers – either five (non-original) copies of the same document or the original and four copies, I’m not clear which. Prosecutors who are out to get Trump may be able to hit him with much more extensive removals.
I don’t know whether, in the disorder of packing up and leaving the White House by January 20, Trump and his staff made some mistakes about document handling. All I’m saying is that the Berger case isn’t very persuasive as a defense. He did NOT get away scot-free.
There is absolutely no record of Sandy Berger paying a nickle towards that fine, a fine that was given in lieu of 20 years in a federal prison. Feel free to show us where he did.
We know Berger was a Clinton stooge. He may have paid a small price, but Clinton got away with whatever Berger stole. What was so damning? We’ll never know. Perhaps in the current case, some secretary or underling will get a similar “punishment” and that will be the end of it like with Berger. I think they will still try to lay this on Trump. It is never tit-for-tat with the dims. Mittens will be deeply concerned as well.
That really isn’t the point. The media rallied for everyone to look the other way.