Posted on 07/25/2004 1:33:24 AM PDT by Liz
He was known to worry about details — but behind that diligence, Sandy Berger was a man who could lose track of papers and appointments without subordinates' help.
So while many jaws dropped in Washington when he owned up to sneaking secret documents from the National Archives, some who worked with former White House National Security Adviser Sandy Berger were not surprised.
"For all those who know and love him, it's easy to see how this could happen," a former Clinton administration colleague told The Washington Post.
When he worked for Clinton, Berger never set foot outside the White House without two cellphones, lest one fail. And his West Wing desk sported half a dozen "in" boxes, to prevent documents from becoming lost in the stacks.
--SNIP--
The 59-year-old lawyer is now under criminal investigation for sneaking top-secret documents out of the archives in his pants legs and, possibly, his socks.
He admitted to removing the documents, along with 40 or 50 pages of unauthorized notes, while reviewing materials gathered for the 9/11 commission. Some of those documents, he claimed, he accidentally destroyed.
Misplacing sensitive classified documents, even accidentally, has stalled government careers and destroyed reputations, such as that of John Deutch, Clinton's CIA director in 1995 and 1996. Clinton pardoned Deutch as he was about to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge stemming from a probe of 17,000 pages of classified documents found on his home computer.
It remains to be seen whether Berger's political clout will save him, but the so-called "socks-docs" scandal instantly derailed his whispered hopes of becoming secretary of state under Kerry.
--SNIP--
Berger's father died when Berger was 8, leaving his mother to support the family through their Army-Navy surplus store.
--SNIP--
At Cornell University during the mid-'60s, Berger became active in the civil-rights movement, and later, while attending Harvard Law School, protested the Vietnam War.
Political pundits point to those early liberal leanings as contradictory to Berger's unpopular proposal under Clinton that the U.S. bomb Iraqi weapons arsenals.
Friends, meanwhile, note that, while a member of the counterculture, he rarely looked the part.
--SNIP--
Between his many years as an international trade lawyer with the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson, Berger advised a slew of Democratic presidential hopefuls, including Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis.
--SNIP--
When he finally found a winner in Bill Clinton, Berger continued cultivating a reputation for diligence in his work that enabled him to build a consensus among Democrats and Republicans to back much of Clinton's foreign policy.
The coming months will no doubt shed some light on why a man of such character would so carelessly risk it all for a few sheets of paper.
--SNIP--
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Aha, so that's where Berger learned his MO since he lifted secret documents in the manner of a cheap crook shoplifting underwear at Wal-Mart.
Steal documents.. Get caught.. Get next assignment fron Hillary boss...
The entire Clinton whitehouse was sloppy. Why, Al gore was know as "Sloppy Second in Command".
As each day passes with this scandal, the entire Clintonoid colony appears to be even more abysmal than we could have ever imagined.
Makes you eonder how this Pantload Berger got auch an important job in our gov't and what exactly he was doing in the runup to 9/11.
To think our safety was in his filthy hands.
One thing is clear....none of these Clintoids had any respect for US law whatsoever.
They are truly frightening and Berger is the scariest of the lot......so far.
I think "CYA" was right at the top of the list for him.
Clintoon was sloppy... just look at Monica's dress.
Predictably, Clinton defended this Pantload saying everybody who knew the guy in the WH always saw him "buried in papers."
That sends a chill up the spine of every patriotic American.
If under scrutiny at the Ntl Archives, Berger stole secret documents, one can only wonder what he did to compromise ntl security in the "anything goes" Clinton-era WH.
I keep seeing Posts that refer Berger to Clinton, and indeed he was, but think for a moment of how many of these Clintonoids will be back in power under Kerry. Thats is the frightening part, A Kerry administration will return all these folks to office.
".... one can only wonder what he did to compromise ntl security in the "anything goes" Clinton-era WH."
What a scary thought. The main question that must be answered....is 'who asked him to do this and why'....
"Clinton pardoned Deutch as he was about to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge stemming from a probe of 17,000 pages of classified documents found on his home computer."
This might suggest that Berger is guilty only of a misdemeanor rather than a felony which can (according to someone on another thread) carry a ten year prison sentence. The fact that Clinton is trying to laugh this off tells me even more about his serious lack of character.
In the Clinton era the government was run by old campus radicals. Crypto-Communists. Red daiper babies. "Treason is the reason" is not just a slogan. These people were doing it.
Socks? If Sandy had been smart he would have worn hip waders.
And we all know how bad "sloppy seconds" can be.
NAW! Let him plea bargain and throw the book at those who put him up to it.
Timeline as reported by the WaPo is not agreed upon by the two parties: The Berger camp and the investigating camp. Why the dispute has to do with this "inadvertant" nonsense.
The investigators say the employees first noticed docs missing after a September visit to the archives. This is when they called Bruce Lindsey to inform him (as he was the Clinton administration liaison to the archives) that the docs would need to be returned. This, the Berger camp denies. They deny the call and that Berger was aware docs were missing at that time.
Next visit by Berger to the archives was early October. Employees do sting and this is when they reportedly observe him deliberately concealing documents upon his person. They later contacted him directly, he calls them back claiming he "found" the documents, employees go to his house directly the next morning to retrieve.
Berger then hires Lanny Breuer and subsequently "finds" 40-50 pages of notes that he had been taking since July (the basis for the claim that "this story is a year old!!"). And remember, the Berger camp admits that he "knowingly" took the notes out of the archives contrary to the rules.
I don't appreciate articles that lend a tone of credence to his ludicrous "sloppy" or "inadvertant" excuse. Especially when we are constantly treated to a tone of skepticism about everything Bush, even though time and again HE is proven to have told the truth. Berger here is clearly lying and I'd appreciate it if the majority acted that way. (All of this not directed at you, Liz. I know YOU have a brain in your head and eyes to see and ears to hear)
The old "He's honest, but sloppy" defense. Next time berger is in TV, they will make sure he has gravy on his tie and the collar of his shirt is up in the air.
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