Ex-Clinton aid admits taking classified papers

[Lurch]

NYtimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/politics/01berger.html?ex=1112936400&en=b1370b971165a3b2&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY)

Ex-Clinton Aide to Admit Taking Classified Papers
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

Published: April 1, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 31 - Samuel R. Berger, a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and give up his security clearance for three years for removing classified material from a government archive, the Justice Department and associates of Mr. Berger's said Thursday.

A respected figure in foreign policy circles for years, Mr. Berger has also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine as part of an agreement reached recently with the Justice Department after months of quiet negotiations, the associates said.

-snip-

Mr. Berger admits to compounding the mistake after removing the second set of documents on Oct. 2, 2003, the associate said. In comparing the versions at his office later that day, he realized that several were essentially the same, and he cut three copies into small pieces, the associate said. He also admitted to improperly removing handwritten notes he had taken at the Archives, the associate said.

Two days later, staff members at the Archives confronted Mr. Berger, and he now admits to misleading the Archives about what had happened. He indicated that the removal was inadvertent, and though he returned the two remaining copies of the report, he said nothing about the three he had destroyed, the associate said.

[Flagg]

NYtimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/politics/01berger.html?ex=1112936400&en=b1370b971165a3b2&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY)

Ex-Clinton Aide to Admit Taking Classified Papers
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

Published: April 1, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 31 - Samuel R. Berger, a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and give up his security clearance for three years for removing classified material from a government archive, the Justice Department and associates of Mr. Berger's said Thursday.

A respected figure in foreign policy circles for years, Mr. Berger has also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine as part of an agreement reached recently with the Justice Department after months of quiet negotiations, the associates said.

-snip-

Mr. Berger admits to compounding the mistake after removing the second set of documents on Oct. 2, 2003, the associate said. In comparing the versions at his office later that day, he realized that several were essentially the same, and he cut three copies into small pieces, the associate said. He also admitted to improperly removing handwritten notes he had taken at the Archives, the associate said.

Two days later, staff members at the Archives confronted Mr. Berger, and he now admits to misleading the Archives about what had happened. He indicated that the removal was inadvertent, and though he returned the two remaining copies of the report, he said nothing about the three he had destroyed, the associate said.



By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Writer
The Associated PressThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON Apr 1, 2005 — Sandy Berger, who was President Clinton's top national security aide, has acknowledged taking classified documents from the National Archives and cutting them up with scissors, law enforcement officials said Friday.

Rather than the "honest mistake" he acknowledged last summer, Berger told Justice Department lawyers he intentionally took and deliberately destroyed three copies of the same document dealing with terror threats during the 2000 millennium celebration, said the officials. They spoke only on condition of anonymity because Berger's plea had not yet been accepted by a judge.

A U.S. District Court hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon, at which time Berger was expected to enter a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge.
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The court appearance was the culmination of a bizarre episode in which the man who once had access to the government's most sensitive intelligence was accused of sneaking documents out of the Archives, which houses the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and other cherished and top-secret documents.

The charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine.

However, the plea agreement calls for Berger to serve no jail time but to pay a $10,000 fine, surrender his security clearance for three years and cooperate with investigators, the officials said. Berger also was required to acknowledge that taking the documents was not inadvertent, they said.

Security clearance allows access to classified government materials.

The Bush administration disclosed the investigation in July, just days before the Sept. 11 commission issued its final report. Democrats claimed the White House was using Berger to deflect attention from the harsh findings, with their potential for damaging President Bush's re-election prospects.

After news of the probe surfaced, Berger acknowledged he left the National Archives on two occasions in 2003 with copies of documents about the government's anti-terror efforts and notes that he took on those documents.

So a $10k fine and loss of security clearance for a premeditated effort to deliberately destroy 3 out of 5 original and related documents.

Isn't "not inadvertant" a foo foo way of saying "I f*cking did it on purpose"?

[hank]

1 word - shocking. And Madelaine Albright had the nerve to say the Bush hadn't done enough when Clinton did crap for eight years. Guess now we know why - they destroyed all the docs that would implicate Clinton and his crew!

The AJC story said that Berger had vowed to help the DOJ investigate others. if only that would happen. Mark my words - this is a rabbit hole that should be followed.

Its also amazing to me that this story gets buried in the back pages. More and more I believe that the liberal media (read teh NYT and their ilk) choose what is and is not important in our daily lives. This story is an absolute bombshell like Watergate and its hardly reported. Amazing.

hank

[Oddbod]

I would have thought five years in Jail was more appropriate - politico's of all colours protect their own. :roll:

[Flagg]

1 word - shocking. And Madelaine Albright had the nerve to say the Bush hadn't done enough when Clinton did crap for eight years. Guess now we know why - they destroyed all the docs that would implicate Clinton and his crew!

The AJC story said that Berger had vowed to help the DOJ investigate others. if only that would happen. Mark my words - this is a rabbit hole that should be followed.

Its also amazing to me that this story gets buried in the back pages. More and more I believe that the liberal media (read teh NYT and their ilk) choose what is and is not important in our daily lives. This story is an absolute bombshell like Watergate and its hardly reported. Amazing.

hank

I agree...it's likely to be quickly forgotten even though a reasonable person can see the potential blowback.

Maybe it's just me getting older and being less likely to assume the media is providing unbiased "truth". Fortunately, and unfortunately, it's not just an American problem...it's global.

I thought journalists were supposed to be the people's public champions in providing a safeguard against misguided political and economic authority rather than providers of propaganda and disinformation?

I'm stunned at the leniency of the plea bargain agreement...didn't Ollie North get nailed for intentionally destroying documents?

At the very least, Berger should be picking up trash on the side of I95 for a year.

[JiJoMacLE45]

Yeah, this whole thing is a friggin' crock.

[Durandal]

This is such a load of $hit it makes me sick. It is simply another example of high level corruption in our government...

[2Sheds_Jackson]

All I know is that if I had done this, I would never again seen the light of day. They would have thrown away the key.

It's truly amazing that these people expect us to believe this utter rubbish.

As I understand it - the destroyed documents were several White House briefings (copies of the same documents) that were handed around a table during a meeting. Each person wrote their own handwritten notes in the margins like "too politically expensive" or whatever, near each action item. So these destroyed documents would have shown exactly what was being discussed at the time, and what the course of action was.

"Ooopsie! In the middle of an inquiry about my administrations actions, I accidentally took home the only handwritten originals of these classified documents, and destroyed them. On several occasions."

Somewhere, a rich liberal donor is writing out Mr. Berger a check for $10,000+, for taking one for the team.