Posted on 10/08/2007 5:12:57 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
Sandy Berger, who stole highly classified terrorism documents from the National Archives, destroyed them and lied to investigators, is now an adviser to presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Berger, who was fired from John Kerry´s presidential campaign when the scandal broke in 2004, has assumed a similar role in Clinton´s campaign, even though his security clearance has been suspended until September 2008. This is raising eyebrows even among Clinton´s admirers.
“It shows poor judgment and a lack of regard for Berger´s serious misdeeds,” said law professor Jonathan Adler of Case Western Reserve University, who nonetheless called Clinton “by far the most impressive candidate in the Democratic field.”
Adler told The Examiner that it is “simply incomprehensible to me that a serious contender for the presidency would rely upon him as a key foreign policy advisor.”
He added: “If Senator Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, at some point she will begin to receive national security briefings that will include sensitive information. At such a point, continuing to keep Berger on board as a key advisor, where he might have access to sensitive material, would be beyond incomprehensible.”
The Clinton campaign declined to comment.
Berger has admitted stealing documents from the National Archives in advance of the 9/11 Commission hearings in 2003. The documents, written by White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke, were a “tough review” of the Clinton administration´s shortcomings in dealing with terrorism, Clarke´s lawyer told the Washington Post.
On several occasions, Berger stuffed highly classified documents into his pants and socks before spiriting them out of the Archives building in Washington, according to investigators. On one occasion, upon reaching the street, he hid documents under a construction trailer after checking the windows of the Archives and Justice Department buildings to make sure he was not being watched.
Berger came back later and retrieved the documents, taking them home and cutting them up with scissors. Two days later, he was informed by Archive employees that his removal of documents had been detected.
“Berger panicked because he realized he was caught,” said a report by the National Archives inspector general, which also recounted his initial reaction. “Berger lied.”
Berger also lied to the public, telling reporters he made an “honest mistake” by “inadvertently” taking the documents, which he blamed on his own “sloppiness.” Bill Clinton vouched for the explanation for Berger, who served as his national security adviser.
Berger later conceded: “I was giving a benign explanation for what was not benign.”
The Justice Department initially said Berger stole only copies of classified documents and not originals. But the House Government Reform Committee later revealed that an unsupervised Berger had been given access to classified files of original, uncopied, uninventoried documents on terrorism. Several Archives officials acknowledged that Berger could have stolen any number of items and they “would never know what, if any, original documents were missing.”
At his sentencing in September 2005, Berger was fined $50,000, placed on probation for two years and stripped of his security clearance for three years.
Not gonna happen.
Monica doesn't go that way...
Damn! This is such shocking news! I hope the addition of Sandy Berger, who is known to have committed a minor infraction, won’t damage Hillary’s reputation for honesty and clean government. I know Berger’s offense wasn’t all that big of a deal, but this is Hillary we’re talking about....a woman who is virtually a saint and has a record of honesty, purity, and personal decency unrivaled in the history of American politics. </s>
“one group of whites called Liberals against another group of whites called Conservatives, either to get into power or to remain in power. Among whites here in America, the political teams are no longer divided into Democrats and Republicans. The whites who are now struggling for control of the American political throne are divided into “liberal” and “conservative” camps. The white liberals from both parties cross party lines to work together toward the same goal, and white conservatives from both parties do likewise.”
Malcome X
- This is the sort of thing you can afford to do when you are absolutely confident that you’ve got the MSM in your hip pocket. For example, how long did the illegal Hsu funding controversy receive any coverage?
One call from someone on the Hitlery campaign team is all it takes to get a story spiked.
Then I have one word for them: Suckers.
Harold Robbins’ unpublished 3rd novel after the Carpetbaggers and Nevada Smith. It is titled “The Connivers.”
At his sentencing in September 2005, Berger was fined $50,000, placed on probation for two years and stripped of his security clearance for three years.
If Hillary gets in, the thief will crush those who stood up for the law. Berger will get his revenge.
Just amazes me though, that the Clintons think that no one will notice. Or care. Or, maybe they just don't care.
My shock is that the Clinton’s taught Berger these skills why do they need him?
Particularly if that self serving p.o.s. did NOT destroy them as stated. Talk about a great bargaining chip!
Unless they have this as “BREAKING NEWS” constantly, for weeks on end, invite quests to talk about how horrible this is, then the public could care less.
The MSM is America’s conscience.
Like Bill Salmon said today, “What if a Republican Candidate brought Scooter Libby onto their staff. How would the press react to that?”
“Culture of corruption...”
Berger’s nefarious credentials put him at the top of the list and a must-have for a job with the Clintons.
If the press starts making a big deal about this..(ya sure) I cfan imagine Hillary claiming she had “No Idea” this happened. Her staff must have made a mistake in the vetting process and they had no clue that Sandy had done this. She can only play stupid for so long when she is the smartest woman in the world!
Berger meets the Clinton criteria--lying thief.
John F’n Kerry must be seething at the missed opportunity to use the slogan or soundbite:
“At least I have the integrity to fire those who have abused our national security.” LOL!
New tag. . .
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