Posted on 07/14/2005 9:05:05 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Sentencing for former Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, who pleaded guilty in April to stealing and destroying top secret terrorism documents from the National Archives, has been delayed, NewsMax.com has learned.
Asked why Berger wasn't sentenced as scheduled on Friday, July 8, a Justice Department spokesman told NewsMax on Tuesday that Berger's sentencing has been postponed till September.
The spokesman declined to offer an explanation for the delay.
Repeated calls asking about the postponement to Berger's lawyer, Washington, D.C., attorney Lanny Breuer, went unreturned.
Federal District Court's U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson, who is presiding over the Berger case, also did not return a call inquiring about its disposition.
After Justice Department prosecutor Noel Hillman allowed Berger to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, he requested what some consider an extraordinarily light sentence given the gravity of the crime - a $10,000 fine, a three-year suspension of Berger's security clearance and no jail time.
The recommendation for leniency was in stark contrast with the comments of Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who suggested after the document theft story broke that Berger could be headed to jail.
"We take issues of classified information very, very seriously," Comey told reporters, before adding, "All felonies in the federal system bring with them the promise of jail time, that's all I can say about that."
Prosecutor Hillman's recommendation would still have to be approved by Magistrate Robinson, a prospect that is expected but not assured.
Under Justice Department guidelines, Berger's misdemeanor plea could still yield a $100,000 fine and a year in prison.
Since the announcement of Berger's light sentence, several online petitions have sprung up, urging Magistrate Robinson to impose a stiffer penalty.
It's not clear whether the delay in Berger's sentencing has anything to do with a reluctance on Robinson's part to accept Hillman's recommendation.
****Set aside Republican speculation that former Clinton national security adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger was trying to hide classified information from the Sept. 11 commission or that he had provided the material to the Kerry campaign. Do likewise with Democratic suspicions that the FBI's investigation of Berger was leaked to distract attention from the commission's report. Those concerns, all unproven, are partisan and secondary. Keep the focus where it belongs. Did Sandy Berger violate the rules regarding the protection of classified information entrusted to him, and if he did, will he be held accountable for his actions?
That's the key test for Washington.
Sandy Berger is a prominent figure among the nation's foreign policy elite. He has friends everywhere, especially where it counts: on Capitol Hill and in the Democratic administration-in-exile holed up in D.C. think tanks and on K Street. He occupies a place of honor in high political circles and among opinion-makers in the press. And he's got clout. Immediately following disclosure about him and the missing National Archives documents, Bill Clinton and John Kerry put in a good word for their friend. And it wasn't for nothing that Berger received this sympathetic characterization in a Post story on Wednesday: "At the same time," wrote our reporter, "[Berger] was known as someone who would constantly lose track of papers or appointments without subordinates to keep him organized and on schedule. 'For all those who know and love him, it's easy to see how this could happen,' one former Clinton colleague said."
A regular Mr. Magoo, that Sandy Berger. ………………………………….***
hmmmm...............
vs
MEDIA ADVISORY:
SCHUMER STANDS WITH AMBASSADOR JOE WILSON TO ASK FOR SUSPENSION OF ROVE'S SECURITY CLEARANCE
Thu Jul 14 2005 11:15:02 ET
White House Should Suspend Deputy Chief of Staff's Security Clearance Information While Investigation is Pending, Until Plame Leak Is Resolved
In Light Of Time Reporter Matt Cooper's Confirmation That Rove Was a Source In the Leak of CIA Agent Valerie Plame's Identity, Schumer and Wilson Call For Suspension of Rove's Security Clearance
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and Ambassador Joseph Wilson will hold a press conference at 3:00pm TODAY, July 14, 2005 in the Mansfield Room of the U.S. Capitol to call for the suspension of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove' security clearance until the investigation of the leak of CIA Agent Valerie Plame's identity is resolved.
Israel S. Klein
Communications Director
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer
Evidently too many people are watching and will take notice of the slap on the wrist.
I wonder how CU's investigation of Ward Churchill is going?
Looks like the Left doesn't want any distractions from the opening debut of "Get Karl".
This is truely pathetic......
Maybe this will give the FBI more time to turn Berger and get him to rat out Clinton (who almost certainly was the puppeteer behind the incident)...
Yes. I wonder.
Hey, this was in all the newspapers. And didn't you see the anchors on the morning talk shows, asking commentators their opinion on Sandy Berger? Yeah, right.
This stinks.
Just curious...but did they close Sandy's security clearance after this little episode of his? I didn't think they did but was wondering.
This stinks.
Not one story listed on Yahoo.
Google only lists News Max and Conservative Voice - Media Buy-Ass for Donkeys - as having a story.
And a post in my weblog contains an analysis of why I don't think the portion of the laws about mishandling classified documents that are punishable as a misdemeanor can be applied to Sandy Berger. In fact, I think that he ought to qualify under a section that has much, much stiffer penalties.
Message: "Let's see how that little Rove matter progresses before we make a final determination on Mr. Lumpy-Pants."
ping--just suppose his name was Karl Rove.
Yeah ... often he would discover memos and other paperwork in his undies and socks when he got ready for bed.
I have little trouble believing that!
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.