Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Will Bill feel Sandy's pain?
WorldNetDaily ^ | 7/22/04 | Craige McMillan

Posted on 07/22/2004 6:45:18 PM PDT by wagglebee

Well, well, well – little Sandy Berger caught with his Hanes-for-her wrapped around his ankles while running interference for the Clinton administration's "legacy" on international terrorism. What will we see next?

Mr. Berger, you may recall, was Bill Clinton's National Security Adviser from 1997 to 2001. He was at the Archives on official business. His former boss had asked that he sort out which documents the Sept. 11 Commission needed to see – and which they didn't. Why Mr. Berger? Who would know better which documents were relevant to the commission's inquiries than a man who had directly or indirectly created many of them?

Before we can understand why Mr. Berger took such an extreme risk, we need a little bureaucratic insight. Initial drafts of reports are always written by career bureaucrats. By and large, these people confine themselves to the known facts and draw quite limited conclusions.

Following this initial draft, the report works its way up the bureaucratic food chain. During this journey facts are refined and conclusions honed to eliminate certain ambiguities and introduce others. Oddly enough, this process always makes the affected department look better than the original report.

When the bureaucratic department heads are finished with the report, their "draft" is given to a low-level political master – in this case, Richard Clarke. Here, the political revisions begin in earnest. Certain facts which aren't "relevent" are discarded, downplayed, or footnoted. Other facts which the original authors deemed of only peripheral importance are highlighted. This process requires that the report's conclusions be "refined" to take into account this "new information."

When Mr. Clarke was satisfied with the report, he would have passed it on to his boss – in this case, Sandy Berger. If Mr. Berger was satisfied with the report, he would pass it on to his boss – President Bill Clinton. After the president had a chance to read it, he would discuss it with Mr. Berger. They would come to a "meeting of the minds" and the report would get it's final revision. By this point, there is an excellent chance that the report's own mother (original author) would no longer recognize it.

Now back to poor Sandy Berger. He spent three days sifting through classified material at the National Archives deciding what documents to give the 9-11 Commission. But he left not with a list of documents the commission needed to see, but with his clothing and socks stuffed with handwritten notes and his briefcase filled with classified documents the 9-11 Commission didn't need to see! And among these documents were the early drafts of President Clinton's performance on terrorism.

Mr. Berger pointed out that the commission received every document it requested. I'm sure that's true: It's difficult to request documents you don't know exist. It's even more difficult to request documents that once existed but suddenly "disappear" – like the ones that traveled to Mr. Berger's office, never to be seen again.

When Archives employees saw that Mr. Berger appeared twice as heavy when he left the Archives as when he had arrived, they checked their documents. They discovered that earlier drafts of the Clinton terrorism legacy report were missing. Then they told their superiors, who called (please select one):

a) The Park Police b) The FBI c) The Justice Department d) Bruce Lindsey

If you answered Bruce Lindsey, the Clinton family lawyer, you are correct. A phone call from the Archives to Mr. Clinton to inform him that the one of the Plumbers had been caught red-handed stealing classified documents would be open to public scrutiny. If the information was relayed via Mr. Clinton's attorney, however, the phone call would be protected by attorney-client privilege. (We'll see what Attorney General John Ashcroft thinks about that soon.)

As I write this column on Tuesday, speculation is rampant about what was in the stolen reports. The simple fact is, we don't know. But we do know this. Sandy Berger stole classified material in an effort to prevent its disclosure to the 9-11 Commission. He may have done it at the direction of his former boss. It's a serious matter that could land him in jail. Whatever was in those stolen and "disappeared" reports is hot enough that the former Clinton administration is feeling Sandy's pain.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bergerscandal; clinton; sandyberger; x42; x42scandals
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last
A phone call from the Archives to Mr. Clinton to inform him that the one of the Plumbers had been caught red-handed stealing classified documents would be open to public scrutiny. If the information was relayed via Mr. Clinton's attorney, however, the phone call would be protected by attorney-client privilege.

Whatever was in those stolen and "disappeared" reports is hot enough that the former Clinton administration is feeling Sandy's pain.

I would love to see BJ Clinton indicted for this, the more likely scenario is that Berger gets a trip to Club Fed as the "healthier" alternative to Arkancide.

1 posted on 07/22/2004 6:45:19 PM PDT by wagglebee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
If the information was relayed via Mr. Clinton's attorney, however, the phone call would be protected by attorney-client privilege.

I don't think this is the case at all. Lindsey is Clinton's lawyer, not Berger's. So there's nothing that protects the content of his conversation from scrutiny by a prosecutor.

And even if he WERE Berger's lawyer, he could effectively lose any claim to attorney-client privilege if he were named as a co-defendant on a conspiracy charge.

2 posted on 07/22/2004 6:50:52 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium . . . sed ego sum homo indomitus")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Alberta's Child

Attorny-client privilege could be used to protect Klintoons involvement and knowledge of any cover-up.


3 posted on 07/22/2004 6:55:01 PM PDT by wagglebee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
HHmm ....just a thought ....If Lindsey is not paid as a lawyer by Berger , can he be charged as a compliant or an accomplice?
4 posted on 07/22/2004 7:01:12 PM PDT by hoosiermama (prayers for all)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

When is a reporter going to ask Clinton how come he didn't tell Kerry ?


5 posted on 07/22/2004 7:02:17 PM PDT by uncbob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
Will Bill feel Sandy's pain?

Feel it? I'm sure he's the one who caused it!
6 posted on 07/22/2004 7:04:48 PM PDT by aruanan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: hoosiermama

I think Lindsey and Berger are having nightmares about Vince Foster right about now.


7 posted on 07/22/2004 7:05:59 PM PDT by wagglebee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Last spin I heard out of The-Only-Commander-In-Chief-Who-Made-It-A-Point-To-Lie-To-My-Face is that the country really should focus on looking forward. Well, Bill, if you say so...


8 posted on 07/22/2004 7:11:22 PM PDT by Orbiter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Slick has had the gall to try to laugh this off. His explanation was something like "Sandy just loves paper," wasn't it?


9 posted on 07/22/2004 7:19:32 PM PDT by luvbach1 (Leftists don't acknowledge that Reagan won the cold war because they rooted for the other side.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: uncbob

Re your #5

Bingo!

Clinton told some reporter within the last day or two that he'd known about the Burger investigation for months.

Kerry claims he didn't know.

Either Kerry's lying, or he's furious about now with Billy-boy for not telling him.


10 posted on 07/22/2004 7:21:35 PM PDT by rightazrain ("John, go to your room!" Tear-A-sa screeched.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Interesting that the Kerry/Edwards Anti=Terrorism Plan disappeared from their website immediately after annoncement of investigation of Sandy Burglar for stealing Anti-terror documents.


11 posted on 07/22/2004 7:22:49 PM PDT by luvbach1 (Leftists don't acknowledge that Reagan won the cold war because they rooted for the other side.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rightazrain

Sorry -- post #10 was for wagglebee


12 posted on 07/22/2004 7:23:02 PM PDT by rightazrain ("John, go to your room!" Tear-A-sa screeched.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: rightazrain

Kerry's losing it right about know, because he knows that Clinton is nuking his candidacy and there's not a damn thing he can do to stop it.


13 posted on 07/22/2004 7:25:15 PM PDT by wagglebee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: uncbob

Great point. Bump right to the top. Don't Clinton and Kerry have weekly "chats"?


14 posted on 07/22/2004 7:42:58 PM PDT by Snake65 (Osama Bin Decomposing)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

WHO are "the Archivists' superiors" and WHY did they immediately think to call Bruce Lindsey? Anyone?


15 posted on 07/22/2004 8:01:48 PM PDT by arasina (So there.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: uncbob

And when is a reporter going to ask Terry McAuliffe whether he knew or not? Both a yes and a no look bad for him.


16 posted on 07/22/2004 8:11:17 PM PDT by JustaCowgirl (The Democratic party has been hijacked by terrorists.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Berger got private time with classified documents, by saying he had to make a phone call...Who did he call, and
is someone checking his records?


17 posted on 07/22/2004 8:13:51 PM PDT by Jank
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
But we do know this. Sandy Berger stole classified material in an effort to prevent its disclosure to the 9-11 Commission thereby concealing information that would irreparably tarnish Clinton's legacy.
18 posted on 07/22/2004 8:22:07 PM PDT by Starboard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: arasina
WHO are "the Archivists' superiors" and WHY did they immediately think to call Bruce Lindsey? Anyone?

And why haven't the Archivists been fired for failing to protect their documents?

19 posted on 07/22/2004 10:04:25 PM PDT by Wil H
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: uncbob; wagglebee

<< When is a reporter going to ask Clinton how come he didn't tell Kerry ? >>

As soon as a reporter dumb enough to not already know the answer -- that both Cli'tons are plugging for Kerry to lose -- gets within shouting distance of him.


20 posted on 07/23/2004 12:42:43 AM PDT by Brian Allen (Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? -- Galatians 4:16 -- So mote it be!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson