Please burn my eardrums. What was the inside gossip?
Re “What was the inside gossip?”
National Archives IG Brachfield was a pretty straight shooter when it came to the integrity of his job re crimes committed against the Archives/documents/staff, etc., as well as other legal duties.
He “reportedly” wanted to fully prosecute Berger for federal felonies including the theft of (classified) government documents, the destruction of govt documents, and lying to the federal investigators (should have included both the Archives IG staff, the Archives Police, and the FBI.
Somebody above him made him or under their own authority, reduced the felonies (worth about 20 years in jail), down to literally misdemeanors, only the suspension of his Archives privileges for about 3 years, and minor (or no restitution for the documents destroyed).
The documents, which were classified, were “reportedly” his own foreign policy/domestic policy working papers, communications with the Clintons/administration re what docs he was taking to conceal their various foreign policy collusions with Red China, possibly the Russians, and other adversial countries.
These may/reportedly have included documents relating to the precursor investigations of Al Qaeda in America and Africa, which killed over a total of about 300 people (Kenya, Tanganyika, WTC first attack), and wounded/injured well over 1200 people (1,000 in the US attack, mainly due to smoke inhalation).
They may also have included Al Gore’s Red Chinese money launderers (the Buddhist nuns in California, several Chinese “businessmen”, and even Red Chinese agents - there were several in the California leftist/political system even back then).
Reportedly (i.e. news reports), Berger’s documents contained a large among of Secret/Top Secret ones which detailed Clinton’s foreign policies that failed in many places including ignoring Al Qaeda as anything other than it being mainly a minor Middle East/Asia Minor terrorist problem (despise warnings and good reporting by Wash. Post reporter Steve Coll on the growing worldwide threat AQ posed, and which the Clinton Regime dismissed/ignored).
Other than the above, I, like Sgt. Schulz “Know nothing. Nothing”.
In DC., even small mice have big ears, and talk. My job as a journalist was to ask questions and listen to the answers.
Another unmentioned group of documents Berger may have stolen would concern the ‘Military Standout’ regarding US air defenses after the “collapse” of the Soviet Union. Some of the stand-down was both reasonable and do-able without jeopardizing US national security.
However, just ask yourself why the US/Pentagon, the seat of all DOD military planning in and for the US and our allies, was UNABLE or UNWILLING to shoot down the hijacked airplane which crashed into it, killing 66 on the plane and 100 on the ground. (I heard the plane, then the crash/explosion, and felt the shock. If I hadn’t been a little late in getting ready for work on 9/11, I would have driven right by the Pentagon which it got hit. My office went on security alert and closed before I could get out of the house (got a warning from my colleague not to come in).
Why didn’t Pentagon guards have the shoulder-fired Anti-Aircraft missiles either in the building or in “ready reaction” sheds on the roof? I’ve seen photos of them published publicly in the past before 9/11. What happened to make them unavailable or “stood down”? Perhaps Berger had that information in his files too.
The only way to know what this thief had taken is to get the Accessioning Report of his records that were given to the National Archives and then to compare them to what is missing (this was already done but downplayed by the Clinton Administration and possibly the Bush Administration. The Classified Reading Room guard saw Berger take the documents and had a list of those he had checked out for “his research” for a book or something.
That list of missing/destroyed documents, as well as those found on him outside the Archives, has NEVER BEEN MADE PUBLIC.
FOIA anyone?
As I said earlier, “I know nothing”.