Posted on 11/07/2007 10:35:54 PM PST by Squidpup
WASHINGTON -- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is unable to find or account for tens of thousands of valuable mementos of Reagan's White House years because a "near universal" security breakdown left the artifacts vulnerable to pilfering by insiders, an audit by the National Archives inspector general has concluded.
Inspector General Paul Brachfeld said that his office was investigating allegations that a former employee stole Reagan memorabilia but that the probe had been hampered by the facility's sloppy record-keeping.
"We have been told by sources that a person who had access capability removed holdings," Brachfeld said in an interview. "But we can't lock in as to what those may be."
The hilltop complex near Simi Valley that houses Reagan's papers -- as well as the Air Force One that served as the "Flying White House" for seven presidents -- is the most visited of the nation's 12 presidential libraries. Many of those facilities are understaffed. And many are struggling to keep track of hundreds of thousands of presidential gifts, including valuable objects bestowed by foreign leaders, American folk crafts as well as T-shirts and political buttons.
But, investigators said, they encountered the most serious problems at the Reagan library, a finding that may mortify fans of the late president, who often inveighed against government inefficiency.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Grrrrrrrrrr
by way of Drudge, I should have noted
A raid on Burgler’s house should be forthcoming immediately.
Sadly, a sign of poor archives management practices. There should have been extra copies of inventories (one of which should be stored off-site).
C-SPAN has been doing a special series on presidential libraries. They just did Carter so the Reagan show is Friday evening. This topic will probably come up.
Exact replicas should have been displayed, originals stored. In any event, this is security horsehockey.
What a coincidence.
And not just the story’s timing.
Keep your eyes on e-bay
Just wait util they probe the Clinton Library. And as far as Hillary is concerned, all those “thousands of presidential gifts, including valuable objects bestowed by foreign leaders” etc. were personal, they are all in her basement.
If true, some of those employees and former employees are just as bad as that Vandalous Horde of Clintonites. Sick.
Has Hillary been visiting?
Was Sandy Burglar in town?
Have been up to the library twice.
It is in the middle of the boondocks
Why should anyone else but those responsible be mortified? The government can't even keep track of top secret information on laptops or amongst Sandy Berger's clothing. I'm far more than mortified about that!
Good point. These artifacts are too valuable to be lost forever. They will be carefully sold.
Not sick -- planned.
The US has been on the slide to hell since the start of the 1900's, and most Americans are too detached to notice, due to the bread and circuses atmosphere promulgated by the corporatist socialists. Traitors and murderers are held in high esteem, and their sycophants are promoted into positions of political power. By undermining and denigrating the bedrock principles of Western Civilization in the guise of cultural acceptance, we are losing the birthrights our forefathers gave with their lives and sacred honour. We are headed to a new revolution; it will not provide a light on the hill, but the depths of despair and desolation. I see little difference between the political leadership going forward -- all are heading into the socialist enclave.
When caught, those involved will get prosecuted, but any damage done will not be reversed or recovered. Sandy Berger is proof of that.
Anybody who steals artifacts from that had better wear gloves, lest an unnoticed paper cut or something admit dormant STD organisms....
I saw the show on Eisenhower. It was excellent.
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