Posted on 12/27/2006 4:00:46 AM PST by IrishMike
Although Democrats enjoy impugning the integrity of the current president and his administration, the ethical lows achieved by his predecessor, Bill Clinton, and his motley crew of senior advisers still cast the current administration, for all its foibles, in a favorable light. And just in case the soft mists of fading memories have lulled some Americans into bouts of misplaced nostalgia for the Clinton gang, along comes former national security adviser Sandy Berger to remind us of how “ethically challenged” they were. Berger a year ago pleaded guilty to the theft of classified documents from the National Archives, receiving a slap on the wrist for acts that would have a landed a non-Washington insider in the slammer. But a new report from the archive’s inspector general provides the most detailed account yet of what happened. “Berger took the documents in the fall of 2003 while working to prepare himself and Clinton administration witnesses for testimony to the Sept. 11 commission,” according to the AP. “Berger was authorized as the Clinton administration’s representative to make sure the commission got the correct classified materials.”
Whether authorized to do so, Berger also seems to have been involved in an attempt to purge documents that reflected poorly on himself or the administration. According to the IG’s report, National Archives personnel saw Berger stuffing something in his socks. Although they at first hesitated “to confront someone of Berger’s stature,” and he initially denied the thefts, he eventually fessed-up under questioning. During a break in his “research,” Berger hid the purloined documents under a construction trailer outside the building; he then retrieved them under cover of darkness. Though the documents were destroyed, archive officials say they believe they know what they were because Berger was being watched, based on earlier suspicions that he was stealing documents.
(Excerpt) Read more at kinston.com ...
If charged and convicted of the felony charge of mishandling classified documents, Berger could face 10 years in prison
...but will receive a slap on the wrist.
Clinton: Good Afternoon.
LM: Senator Clinton if you are elected to the highest office in the land, what assurances can you give us, the voters, that your administration will not continue the illegal and traitorous practices of your husband's previous administration, which you were an important part of?
I think you're right.
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