Posted on 07/19/2004 8:08:07 PM PDT by joinedafterattack
"In the course of reviewing over several days thousands of pages of documents on behalf of the Clinton administration in connection with requests by the Sept. 11 commission, I inadvertently took a few documents from the Archives," Berger said.
"When I was informed by the Archives that there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had except for a few documents that I apparently had accidentally discarded," he said.
Last time I tried something this lame was second grade.
How do we know that what he returned was not altered?
He stole (yes, STOLE) the same document TWICE.
No, these people can not be embarrassed. It has to be something else.
Yup... From this article it sounds like a deep cleaning job. A bit like double wiping the hard drive.
I can comment on this from actual experience.
This is not a technical violation. It is a violation of the rules which provide that notes taken from a classified document must themselves be marked to show the level of classification of the information. For example, notes taken from a SECRET document would have each paragraph marked with (S) for SECRET, (C) for CONFIDENTIAL or (U) for UNCLASSIFIED and the document itself marked with the highest level of any of the paragraph markings.
These notes must then be turned back into the Archive or Reading Room authority where they may or may not be copied but would be forwarded to Berger through the normal channels for handling classified information. This assumes that Berger is part of some organization that has the necessary means for handling and storing classified information. If not, then he would not be allowed to take possession of the notes but could return to the Archive and review them.
He's busted. Roll up his contacts and co-conspirators.
"When I was informed by the Archives that there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had except for a few documents that I apparently had accidentally discarded," he said.
This stinks to high heaven. These documents are reported to be "highly classisfied" which I take to mean Top Secret with several intel riders. The last time I was in the presence of 'highly classified' data the two-man rule was enforced which meant the documents were never out of sight of two individuals at any time, and I was NEVER alone with a document. There was certainly no way to inadvertantly walk off not knowing that I had a marked document at that level in my possesion. At the very least, the security measures in place are criminaly lax; it is much more likely that Berger deliberately violated them knowing full well what he was doing.
One thing is for sure. If I were in Berger's place, the only government job I could get work be washing the stockade commandant's car.
We have to know with whom he shared the information. It's time to take down some co-conspirators.
First the Slimes version (buried deep in the paper, BTW):
Clinton Aide Took Classified Material
By MARK GLASSMAN
Published: July 20, 2004
WASHINGTON, July 19 - President Bill Clinton's national security adviser, Samuel R. Berger, removed classified security documents from the National Archives while vetting them in preparation for testimony before the Sept. 11 commission and has become the subject of a criminal investigation, his lawyer said Monday night.
Mr. Berger removed at least two versions of a memorandum assessing how the government handled intelligence and security issues before the millennium celebrations in 1999, his lawyer, Lanny A. Breuer, said. He also removed notes he took about classified documents, the lawyer said.
"In the course of reviewing over several days thousands of pages of documents on behalf of the Clinton administration in connection with requests by the 9/11 commission, I inadvertently took a few documents from the archives," Mr. Berger said in a statement.
He said, "I deeply regret the sloppiness involved," and added that he had not intended to keep any document from the commission. The investigation was first reported by The Associated Press.
Mr. Berger returned all of the documents and notes to the archives in October, within a week of his learning they were missing, his lawyers said.
Federal agents investigated Mr. Berger's handling of the materials, a senior government official said this evening. The official said the inquiry's results were being reviewed Justice Department prosecutor, who will decide whether any laws were broken.
Now,from Fox:
WASHINGTON — Former President Clinton's national security adviser is under criminal investigation for taking highly classified terrorism documents that should have been turned over to the independent commission probing the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, FOX News has confirmed.
Sandy Berger (search) is under scrutiny by the Justice Department (search) following the disappearance of documents he was reviewing at the National Archives.
Berger's home and office were searched earlier this year by FBI (search) agents armed with warrants after the former Clinton adviser voluntarily returned some sensitive documents to the National Archives and admitted he also removed handwritten notes he had made while reviewing the sensitive documents.
He apparently was seen stuffing classified documents into his pants and his coat, according to some newspaper reports.
However, some drafts of a sensitive after-action report on the Clinton administration's handling of Al Qaeda terror threats during the December 1999 millennium celebration are still missing, officials and lawyers told The Associated Press.
Berger and his lawyer said Monday night he knowingly removed the handwritten notes by placing them in his jacket and pants, and also inadvertently took copies of actual classified documents in a leather portfolio.
"I deeply regret the sloppiness involved, but I had no intention of withholding documents from the commission, and to the contrary, to my knowledge, every document requested by the commission from the Clinton administration was produced," Berger said in a statement to the AP.
The FOX article continues, in far greater detail about the allegations and, unlike the Slimes version, actually attempts to put them in both political and national security contexts:
Officials said the missing documents were highly classified, and included critical assessments about the Clinton administration's handling of the millennium terror threats as well as identification of America's terror vulnerabilities at airports to sea ports.
Lanny Breuer, one of Berger's attorneys, said his client has offered to cooperate fully with the investigation but had not yet been interviewed by the FBI or prosecutors. Berger has been told he is the subject of the criminal investigation, Breuer said.
Berger served as Clinton's national security adviser for all of the president's second term and most recently has been informally advising Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Clinton asked Berger last year to review and select the administration documents that would be turned over to the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The New York Times: (212) 556-7652
The New York Post: (212) 930-8000
ABC: 212-456-7777
CBS: 212-975-4321
NBC: 212-664-4444
CNN: 404-237-0234
Fox:1-888-369-4762
NY York Daily News (212) 210-NEWS
NO, NO, NO!! It's not about airport stuff.
It's about covering Bubba's behind!! The goal of the 9/11 commission was to cover up (ala Gorelick) all the GROSS ERRORS of the CLINTON ADMIN in order for Bubba to regain his legacy.
Berger has fallen on the sword for Bubba (like Web Hubbell) by STEALING A CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT the likes of which made Bubba and Berger and the whole Clinton admin look like the bunch of clowns they really were .. national security was a joke to them .. and this little episode proves it to me. Berger is so loyal to the criminal Bubba, he has been willing to do jail time for destroying some documentation which made Bubba look really bad.
Can you imagine Condi Rice going into the archives and STEALING CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS ..?? .. not in a million years.
I'm wondering how long Kerry will wait before dumping Berger. He better not wait very long because this is VERY VERY BIG - if it wasn't, the NYT wouldn't have buried the story on page 17, and the WP wouldn't have buried it even further than that.
Bubba has his legacy .. Monica and 9/11. And .. if Berger is smart .. he'll spill and beans and sink Bubba's boat.
Good stuff in this thread on the timing of events.
Berger= Serial Document Thief!
This caper is officially dubbed : SOXGATE
Maybe the bear trap was set for Richard Clark early this year?:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1105766/posts
GOP Moves to Declassify Clarke Testimony (Perjury Trap ?)
Yahoo News/AP ^ | 3/26/2004 | DAVID ESPO
Posted on 03/26/2004 12:56:27 PM PST by AMDG
Top Republicans in Congress sought Friday to declassify two-year-old testimony by former White House aide Richard Clarke, suggesting he may have lied this week when he faulted President Bush (news - web sites)'s handling of the war on terror.
"Mr. Clarke has told two entirely different stories under oath," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said in a speech on the Senate floor.
The Tennessee Republican said he hopes Clarke's testimony in July 2002 before the House and Senate intelligence committees can be declassified. Then, he said, it can be compared with the account the former aide provided in his nationally televised appearance Wednesday before the bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1105766/posts
TrouserGate bump !
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