Posted on 12/27/2004 3:28:56 AM PST by Osama Is My DNC Chairman
LAMB: Somebody out there in the ether told me that you have documents from the Carter transition time as part of your collection.
WILLIAMS: I do.
LAMB: What is that?
WILLIAMS: They were in a desk drawer and I found them. I was assigned a desk in the Old Executive Office Building. This is one of the great quirks of the history of the last 40 years and I know who this is, youve been talking to and it makes perfect sense. And I have the original list of potential vice presidents, the original IBM Selectric with corrections, something thats been in the news of late, the original list of potential vice presidential choices for the new president. I have the kind of, how do we get started memorandum where Carters handwriting is visible saying, transfer all calls to Plains. Heres how to answer the phone. Carter transition office, Governor Carter is not in, but may I take a message?
The president, who was later so famous for his love of and immersion in the minutiae of office, is clearing seen doing the same before he is even in office. And Im very lucky to have these. I guess its squatters rights. I will probably hand them over to their rightful owners. Ill keep only a Xerox and Ill give the papers to the Carter library. Truth be told, my wife and I live in a converted barn. These were missing for a period of about 10 years during which time I shared the story with no one and was perspiring heavily about it until recently when, in trying to track down a mouse, I moved a wall panel. Lo and behold, they were in the same red manila folder that they were in in the Carter White House
(Excerpt) Read more at q-and-a.org ...
Now, NBC's new anchor has admitted that he STOLE documents from the Carter White House, and held on to them for more than 25 years. Even if he gives them back to the White House, doesn't this act of long-term dishonesty pretty much disqualify him as a serious and ethical journalist worthy of the anchor's chair?
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What I want to know is why Sandy Berger isn't yet in leg-irons busting rocks.
Hounded? Surely you exagerate.
"Dan Rather was hounded from his anchor's chair for mishandling documents, even though no laws were broken."
I am sure that using forged military documents to try to unseat a President is against the law.
Legal question for all: Can a U.S. citizen claim "standing" and file charges against these document thieves? Could we get a FR class action going? Other angles? Getting them served on camera would be a good start...sure to be a hit on Drudge and Rush and other shows....
900 FBI files are still out there and tend to make people cautious.
Semper Fi,
"...the original list of potential vice presidential choices for the new president."
Huh? How did he get elected without already having picked a VP?
"NBC's new anchor has admitted that he STOLE documents from the Carter White House"
Doesn't the statute of limitations for prosecution start with our discovery of the crime? Let's clamor. What are the most important pressure points we can come up with...yes, the advertisers, the execs,--but how about FReeping his neighborhood...ProtestWarrior style? Real local shame and derision, "just in case" we can't get our other bureaucracies off their butts to do the job....
Rather manipulated documents in an effort to push a story designed to affect a presidential election. Such an effort should have led to Rather's downfall. Williams was a college kid who got no pay as an intern. He probably thought of them as a momento at the end of his internship. While he shouldn't have taken the papers, they don't appear to compromise national security nor would they compromise any kind of investigation or election. So, I'm not going to try to draw any kind of equivalency.
A private citizen can report a crime to the authorities and even arrest perpetrators. A citizen can be asked if they wish to file charges against an individual. However, a private citizen, ultimately,does not have the authority to initiate the prosectution of a crime. That authority rests in a district/county attorney or US attorney. The prosecutor has broad discretion in criminal matters.
The only person/entity with the authority to prosecute would be the US attorney's office or an office associated with the WH or national archives. If these guys were not willing to prosecute Berger, I seriously doubt that they are going to go after Williams for what happened 25 years ago. A class action lawsuit is an action taken in civil court.
How do you figure Williams "stole" these items? Isn't that for the original owner to say whether or not they were stolen?
If they were considered trash, they could hardly be stolen could they?
As much as I dislike Williams, this is pretty weak and in no way disqualifies him for anything.
You're not alone.
If these were national security files, personnel files or dossiers, it would be problematic. This is just a list of VP nominees. On a moral level, this is equivalent to sticking a Ritz-Carlton towel or ashtray in your suitcase. It's theft, but not nearly on the level with what Sandy Berger did.
Interesting that they were hidden behind a panel, which is odd, and that he was "perspiring heavily" about having taken out the trash after all these years. Sounds like he thought he stole them, and was worried about the consequences if word got out.
LOL! What a perfect card to explain "Jimmay" Carter.
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