'SOCKS DOCS' JURY GRILLS CLINTON CRONY

New York Post ^ | 1/12/05 | IAN BISHOP and DEBORAH ORIN

[kattracks]

Former Clinton White House Mr. Fix-It Bruce Lindsey emerged tight-lipped yesterday after testifying before a federal grand jury probing whether top-secret documents were illegally removed from the National Archives.

The grand jury probe, reported exclusively in The Post Tuesday, is digging into why another former Bill Clinton aide, Sandy Berger, sneaked the national security documents out of the Archives — possibly in his socks.

Lindsey denied any inside knowledge about Berger's sticky fingers.

"All I know is what he [Berger] said. He made a public statement," said Lindsey, Clinton's deputy White House counsel, after testifying under oath yesterday.

Berger admits walking off with 40 to 50 top-secret documents from the archives, but claims it was an "honest mistake" while vetting documents for the 9/11 commission.

Berger has admitted destroying some documents — he says by mistake.

Lindsey declined comment on what he told the grand jury, but denied reports that he met with Berger in New York for crisis control as the scandal erupted last summer.

[snip]

Among the documents Berger lifted were multiple drafts of a report assessing the 2000 millennium threat that is said to conclude that only luck prevented a terrorist attack then.

That conflicts with Berger's sworn testimony to the commission — he claimed "we thwarted" millennium attacks by being vigilant, not lucky.

[Howlin]

When Berger was asked about it by a Congressional committee shortly after, he said it probably took "three months" to plan (right after Bush took office)...............which is ridiculous in the extreme. Berger was CYA'ing himself and Clinton b/c they know 911 was planned under their watch. And now they're trying to cover it up by stealing documents that prove it.

There you go.

[printhead]

to almost quote Wbb Hubbell; "it looks like it's time to roll over again".

[eureka!]

"From here it looks like a slam dunk case against the Sand Burglar: Fact 1: Berger admitted to removing the TS documents from the National Security Archives (NSA). Fact 2: Berger admitted to destroying TS documents after he removed them from the NSA. Fact 3: Berger removed TS documents from the NSA on multiple occasions. Fact 4: Berger has not returned all the TS documents to the NSA. Fact 5: Berger was observed hiding TS documents inside his clothes and then departing the NSA. Fact 6: NSA personnel marked TS documents of interest before Berger's next visit(s) to the NSA, and noted that TS documents disappeared shortly after Berger's departure."

It is even slam dunker than that:

Fact 7: The documents were more than TS, they were "Code Word" level or somesuch.

Fact 8: Each document has a brightly colored cover sheet warning of nature and that one will go to prison for misuse etc. I understand that each viewer must sign off on the acknowledgment

Fact 9: Mr. Burglar was the former NSA. He knew.

Fact 10.: The law does not even require such intent.

Mr. Burglar is toast, crispy toast. IMHO...

[printhead]

I would like to know what "records" he may have INSERTED into the archives.

[eureka!]

Re#143 I love that quote. It gives me hope when these cases take so long...

[Liz]

Not guesswork. Been reported in several places that Berger nixed a plan to capture Osama bin Laden with one word in the margin: "No." .

[Liz]

Nice find.......dynamite reference resource.

[Howlin]

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.

Here is my question: if Berger was suppose to be making a list of documents the commission "needed" to see, did he not suspect that somebody else, namely Richard Clarke, would mention this document? I mean, Clarke, above anybody else, loves to toot his own horn.

How could Berger have thought he could get away with removing all those documents?

Or was there a "document" there in its place? Do we know that?

[cake_crumb]

"Berger removed multiple drafts of the same document about the millineum terrorist threat, a document that proves the Clinton administration should take no credit for preventing a terrorist attack on LAX"

Of course Clinton&Co don't deserve the credit. An alert border patrol agent stopped it.

[Howlin]

Okay. Thanks. Some of this stuff I read and I can't remember whether we read it in an article or some of us guessed that is what went on.

[cake_crumb]

"The Bush Administration could have saved itself some grief if it had announced the Berger investigation when it first began. It would have also spared us the Richard Clarke tap-dance on the witness table."

The Berger investigation is a criminal investigation, not a political ploy. The Bush administration did exactly the right thing in keeping it quiet as long as possible.

[Howlin]

FYI.

[cake_crumb]

"If he flips, can we call him the 'Berger flipper'?"

You can call him "Cheese Berger" right now if you like ;- )

[cake_crumb]

"When they should have called in the cops, imho."

I agree. Only an accomplice would call a lawyer to report a theft of top secret documents.

[altura]

my thought exactly.

Roll over, Sandy.

(that is a good dog's name, isn't it?)

[Liz]

This is a long thread, with great stuff. Now I know you came to the site late--we started out very early--Miss M was waiting and waiting for you.

All of us tried to post as much info as we could find on the subject, particularly when a poster raised an issue.

I just hope you have a chance to get to all the info here. It will answer a lot of questions.

I'll keep posting as well. There's tons of info out there.

[antivenom]

I've read he even successfully got a few originals. Best part was they actually "set him up" with copies to take...he was a very silly man to think he would get away with this...maybe he thought he still worked for the Clinton/Reno administration...flash backs are a b$tch.

[Howlin]

I'm making my way through it, trying to go back through my bookmarks to see if I have anything you all haven't posted yet.

Hey, I was SLEEPING (for a change)!

[Howlin]

As I am reading, I'm wondering if Richard Clarke is prepared to "take one for the team".........what do you think?

[Republic]

"Bruce Lindsey knows where all the bodies are buried."

Indeed, he does.

Ran into him once just outside the WH, as he was walking towards the gate, and I was chilled to see this creep who 'did the dirty work, the clean-up, as it were, for his unethical and immature bosses, billary.

Ah yes, brucie 'the arm' lindsey, every administration needs a good one, even mafia bosses know that much.

Always wondered about the jogger who ran into whats her name, you remember the one, the one who mentioned her missing pet! And asked about the welfare of her children.