I'm not surprised. He's a Democrat, so he skated. Did you really think for a moment they would throw the book at him?
1. Consider the source (CBS).
2. Now that it's out of the bag, I don't see it just quietly going away.
so let me see, if I make copies of classified documents and give them to someone else it is ok. Someone better inform the guy that called himself the falcon, cause all he did was make copies of classified documents, remove them from TRW, and give them to some Russian Politicos. After all they were just "copies."
They had better read the law.
And the DOJ will shortly apologize to Martha Stewert and say " All is forgiven", right? Yeah, right.
Maybe I'm naive, but in the world of document security it's not the documents themselves, but the information they contain, that's the subject of security. A copy is no different from the original.
Berger signed a declaration reminding him of his responsibilities under penalty of law to safeguard the classified information, and NOT to remove it from the room where he was reading the material. It's a standard government form. Everyone who's ever handled classified material (my own clearance - TS to ITS) has signed the same d*mn form. Even if it was only "Confidential" material, or even "priviledged" (i.e. not classified, but property of the U.S. Government) material, it was in that room, and controlled by monitors for a purpose.
Even if he was only "negligent", absent minded, or was using the material down the hall in the mens room for "light reading" (or toilet paper), he's guilty as h*ll.
If the Bush administration (Justice Dept) does not prosecute him, then they are complicit in his crimes.
SFS
For God's sake, why did Charles Colson of the Nixon admin go to prison for mishandling ONE FBI file? Why did it take a Presidential pardon from Slick Willie for John Deutch not to be charged?
I got a funny feeling when Clinton said, "We were laughing about it." There sure as heck wasn't anything funny about it when the news broke, so I figured that he knew the fix was in.
Just minutes ago, I stumbled across a drooling, seething, Bush-hating blogger who was raging at Berger for being so stupid. And if this report is correct (I got burned on 'VP' Gephardt, so I won't count my chickens), it's all over now. It's like it was a mirage.
How long are these 'rats going to be allowed to run around acting like KGB agents before the arrests begin? No way this crap can go on much longer I hope.
From what I understood, Berger wasn't the ultimate target. Maybe they will go after the person that received them?
DORKS...No wonder they keep Rather & Rooney around!
I don't buy this just yet, let's see what tomorrow brings.
Plea bargain?
Consider the source(s).
Remember the old question - CBS?
Consider your source.
Besides, it's against the law to even write down what's contained in classified documents and take those notes with you, much less copies of the documents, or originals. And he apparently stole some originals, and likely shredded and/or burned them up.
Wanna bet?
Welcome to FR.
Let us know when it is hard copy and not just what you heard. I hear a lot of junk on TV and the radio that is less that the truth. Even some posts here on FR.
I like some confirmation before charging off, especially with a new member to FR.
BTW, for those who may not know, you can check when someone has joined FR by moving your pointer over their name and the date will appear like a tool tip. You can also go to their home page, but the mouse pointer is quicker. It will also appear in the lower toolbar.