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

To: backhoe

Aw jeez! LOL


7 posted on 08/10/2005 12:28:25 AM PDT by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies ]


To: Lancey Howard; backhoe
Great minds ... lol.

Why Isn't Sandy Berger Going to Jail?

By Tom Fitton Aug 7, 2005

Two men walk into the National Archives. [No, this is not a joke.] One steals letters dating back to the Civil War and then sells them on Ebay. The other steals classified documents related to terrorism and then destroys them in order to deceive investigators. Which man receives the stiffer penalty?

The answer may surprise you.

Howard Harner, of Staunton, Virginia, pled guilty on May 27 to pilfering documents from the National Archives — approximately 100 letters from Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and other historical figures. He then sold the letters, stolen over a six-year period, through Ebay and various auctions for a nifty profit. Harner, who promised to help investigators track down the letters, will spend the next two years in prison for this crime in addition to paying a $10,000 fine.

“This sentence sends a very clear signal that theft of cultural property?will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Archivist Allen Weinsten, after the sentence was announced. Fair enough.

Former Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger pled guilty on April 1 to smuggling five classified documents, including a highly secret memorandum, out of the National Archives related to the Clinton administration’s response to terrorism. Berger, who was preparing for his testimony before the 9/11 Commission at the time, later destroyed the documents, shredding them with scissors at his office, and lied to investigators.

While Berger will not be sentenced until July 8, government prosecutors have requested no jail time — just a $10,000 fine and the temporary removal of his security clearance.

So, setting the record straight, federal prosecutors threw the book at a man for stealing and selling 150 year-old letters, and then let another off the hook for stealing and shredding top-secret government documents.

Does any of this make sense to you? Government prosecutors treat politicians and public officials with kid gloves while they sock it to the average citizen.

In the case of the disgraced Berger, Judicial Watch recently filed a formal bar complaint with the office of Bar Counsel for the District of Columbia. [The Bar Counsel responded to Judicial Watch, indicating that our request is under consideration.] According to the Rules for Professional Conduct for attorneys in Washington, D.C., Berger is not allowed to

[1] “Commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyers’ honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer;

[2] Engage in conduct involving fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; and

[3] Engage in conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice.”

By his own admission, Berger is guilty of all three violations. He admitted to stealing five classified security documents from the National Archives that concerned the Clinton administration’s mishandling of the investigation of the “Millennium 2000” terror plot. He admitted to shredding three of the five documents with scissors late one evening at the office of his consulting firm. He admitted that he lied to investigators by telling them initially that he merely removed the documents “by accident” and that it was an “honest mistake.”

Perhaps most importantly, Berger apparently attempted to alter the historical record of his and the Clinton administration’s actions related to terrorism. By eliminating the evidence, Berger quite possibly intended to deceive the 9/11 Commission.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Chasson, commenting on the Harner case, noted the negative impact that Harner’s crime would have on the relationship between the National Archives and researchers. “There’s a trust that’s been broken,” she said, justifying the two-year sentence.

Berger, like many Clinton officials before him, violated the public trust. He also likely placed the American people at greater risk by attempting to compromise an investigation of the 9/11 attacks. Berger’s crime, therefore, goes well beyond the realm of National Archive research policy and cultural property and impacts something far more serious — national security.

Berger deserves to go to jail. He deserves to have his security clearance revoked forever. He deserves a stiffer fine. Without a doubt, he should be disbarred.

Tom Fitton is president of Judicial Watch, Inc.

The National Ledger is rebuilding its archives. This commentary originally ran on June 30, 2005.

===================================================

July 8 is not in synch with the date of this. See statement above.

10 posted on 08/10/2005 12:41:13 AM PDT by STARWISE (CURB POLLUTION; SAVE ENERGY: Show a lie-detection meter for every Democrat interview.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ]

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