Sandy Berger Probed Over Terror Memos (stuffed in jacket, pants, SOCKS!)

[NHPolitico]

Oops, I accidentally and inadvertently and innocently put highly classified terrorism documents into my socks. Yeah, that's the ticket-- and my wife Morgan Fairchild!  This guy was our NSA? Holy sh!t what an idiot.[/b]

WASHINGTON — Former President Clinton's national security adviser [and Kerry campaign advisor] is under criminal investigation for taking highly classified terrorism documents that should have been turned over to the independent commission probing the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, FOX News has confirmed.

Sandy Berger is under scrutiny by the Justice Department  following the disappearance of documents he was reviewing at the National Archives.

Berger's home and office were searched earlier this year by FBI agents armed with warrants after the former Clinton adviser voluntarily returned some sensitive documents to the National Archives and admitted he also removed handwritten notes he had made while reviewing the sensitive documents.

However, some drafts of a sensitive after-action report on the Clinton administration's handling of Al Qaeda terror threats during the December 1999 millennium celebration are still missing, officials and lawyers said. Officials said the missing documents were highly classified also identify America's terror vulnerabilities at airports to seaports.

Berger and his lawyer said Monday night he knowingly removed the handwritten notes by placing them in his jacket, pants and socks, and also inadvertently took copies of actual classified documents in a leather portfolio.


"I deeply regret the sloppiness involved, but I had no intention of withholding documents from the commission, and to the contrary, to my knowledge, every document requested by the commission from the Clinton administration was produced," Berger said in a statement.

There are laws strictly governing the handling of classified information, including prohibiting unauthorized removal or release of such information.

Lanny Breuer, one of Berger's attorneys, said his client had offered to cooperate fully with the investigation but had not yet been interviewed by the FBI or prosecutors.

Berger served as Clinton's national security adviser for all of the president's second term and most recently has been informally advising Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Clinton asked Berger last year to review and select the administration documents that would be turned over to the Sept. 11 commission.

'Inadvertent' Action?

The FBI searches of Berger's home and office occurred after National Archives employees said they believed they witnessed Berger placing documents in his clothing while reviewing sensitive Clinton administration papers and that some documents were missing.

Berger said he returned some classified documents that he found in his office and all of the handwritten notes he had taken from the secure room, but could not locate two or three copies of the millennium terror report.

"In the course of reviewing over several days thousands of pages of documents on behalf of the Clinton administration in connection with requests by the Sept. 11 commission, I inadvertently took a few documents from the Archives," Berger said.

"When I was informed by the Archives that there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had except for a few documents that I apparently had accidentally discarded."

Breuer said Berger believed he was looking at copies of the classified documents, not originals.

Government and congressional officials said no decision has been made on whether Berger should face criminal charges.

Although lawmakers didn't want to make a judgment call on Berger's fate until all the facts are known, they agreed that the situation doesn't look good for Berger, or even for Kerry.

"There's an ethic here -- that is of strict discipline, of not letting the fact you're working on a political campaign start to color your actions when it comes to national security," Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., told FOX News on Tuesday.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., called the news "surprising" and said that "unless we learn otherwise, I have to assume that what Sandy said was right -- that any removal of documents was inadvertent. But it is serious."

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said, "we need more information -- obviously the timing of it is not good" for Kerry.

"From now on, until the election, everything like this will have a spotlight put on it, examined very carefully," Lott continued.

More 'Innocent Than It Looks?'

David Gergen, who was an adviser to Clinton and worked with Berger for a time in the White House, said Tuesday, "I think it's more innocent than it looks."

"I have known Sandy Berger for a long time," Gergen said in a television interview. "He would never do anything to compromise the security of the United States." Gergen said he thought that "it is suspicious" that word of the investigation of Berger would emerge just as the Sept. 11 commission is about to release its report, since "this investigation started months ago."

Berger testified publicly at one of the commission's hearings about the Clinton administration's approach to fighting terrorism.

Berger had ordered his counterterrorism adviser, Richard Clarke, in early 2000 to write the after-action report and has publicly spoken about how the review brought to the forefront the realization that Al Qaeda had reached America's shores and required more attention.

The missing documents involve two or three draft versions of the report as it was being refined by the Clinton administration. The Archives is believed to have copies of some of the missing documents.

In the FBI search of his office, Berger also was found in possession of a small number of classified note cards containing his handwritten notes from the Middle East peace talks during the 1990s, but those are not a focal point of the current criminal probe, according to officials and lawyers.

Breuer said the Archives staff first raised concerns with Berger during an Oct. 2 review of documents that at least one copy of the post-millennium report he had reviewed earlier was missing. Berger was given a second copy that day, Breuer said.

Officials said Archive staff specially marked the documents and when the new copy and others disappeared, Archive officials called Clinton attorney Bruce Lindsey.

Berger immediately returned all the notes he had taken, and conducted a search and located two copies of the classified documents on a messy desk in his office, Breuer said. An Archives official came to Berger's home to collect those documents but Berger couldn't locate the other missing copies, the lawyer said.

Breuer said Berger was allowed to take handwritten notes but also knew that taking his own notes out of the secure reading room was a "technical violation of Archive procedures, but it is not all clear to us this represents a violation of the law."

Justice officials have informed the Sept. 11 commission of the Berger incident and the nature of the documents in case commissioners had any concerns, officials said. The commission is expected to release its final report on Thursday.

FOX News' Major Garrett, Liza Porteus, Anna Stolley and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[agcatter]

Look.  it is perfectly plausable that Burger could "inadvertantly" put documents down his pants and in his socks.  It happens to me all the time.

[ATFFL]

I think he was heading to a singles bar and wanted to "enhance" himself.  He had heard about stuffing socks down one's trousers, misunderstood it, and stuffed documents in his socks and pants.

Then decided he needed to look more "buff" so he stuffed some in his jacket to fill out his look.

Sadly, the look did not work for him.  When he told the women his name, they laughed so hard they passed out.

[agcatter]

I believe you are on to something there.  I mean, why else would he stuff sensitive documents down his pants?  We need to give this guy a pass.

[Wakie]

David Gergen, an adviser to the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations stepped up to defend Berger saying that the he (Berger) took copies of the documents but left the originals.

[agcatter]

How the hell does Gergen know?  Is he part of the Justice Dept investigation?  

This smells to high heaven and there is no spinning that fact.

I guess you didn't understand that I was kidding about givin Berger a pass.

[Blue Rectangle]

Gergen's defense of Berger seems to be:
1. Nothing happened
2. Even if something happened, it's not important
3. Even if it were important, it's all the Republicans' fault for saying that it's important.

Joe Lockhart's defense is just as bad:
"I suggest that person [the un-named source inside the investigation] is lying," he [Lockhart] said. "And if that person has the guts, let's see who it is who made the comment that Sandy Berger stuffed something into his socks."

Lockhart is safe doing whatever name-calling he wants, since the source inside the investigation would surely be fired if their name was made public.

Four years latter and Lockhart is still the attack dog for the Clinton administration.  Just in case anyone had forgotten, Gergen and Lockhart remind us of how charges against Clintonites were handled: with the character assassination of the accusers.

[qwerty]

David Gergen, an adviser to the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations stepped up to defend Berger saying that the he (Berger) took copies of the documents but left the originals.

Okay so if I take highly sensitive and classified nuclear schematics and security information and sell them to Al-Queda it's alright because they are just copies, right?

[Wakie]

David Gergen, an adviser to the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations stepped up to defend Berger saying that the he (Berger) took copies of the documents but left the originals.

Okay so if I take highly sensitive and classified nuclear schematics and security information and sell them to Al-Queda it's alright because they are just copies, right?

Do you believe that the former National Security Advisor is selling secrets to Al-Qaeda?  Is that what you're trying to say?

The reality is this ... the original documents were still at the National Archive and accessible to the 9/11 commission.  If he really wanted to sell this info or pass it on to enemies of America he could do it from memory.  It was stupid of him but not criminal.

The timing of these accusations is extremely conspicuous.  You would think they would have hit sooner.  But then again breaking this story right before the Dem convention does have a bigger impact, doesn't it?

[NHPolitico]

SEN. JOHN KERRY: "Sandy Berger is my friend, and he has tirelessly served this nation with honor and distinction. I respect his decision to step aside as an adviser to the campaign until this matter is resolved objectively and fairly."

SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS: "Reportedly these documents are related to homeland security and then suddenly we see the Kerry campaign came forward with what may have been illegal documents. This is sensitive stuff and was a significant breach of security...Kerry knows better than to use these documents."

SEN. GORDON SMITH: "There is a curious connection between the removal of these documents and the Kerry press conference on port security..It's disappointing what people might do as they try and take the President down."

Here's a summary so far.
After Berger's first visit to the Archives the bureaucrats there discovered that material was missing. Bruce Lindsay was called and Berger returned some material (BTW, material the NA weren't aware were missing at that time rather than the material they knew were missing), but not all that was missing. Then on subsequent visits more material was missing (the material had been marked by the NA to catch him red-handed-- mark it at NA and then see the same mark at his home) and in surveillance it was found that he was stuffing material in his clothes. The FBI was contacted, and a grand jury is deciding if they want to indict him. Berger quit as an advisor to Kerry today.

[TommyC1776]

Sandy can be a guy's name?

[NHPolitico]

Sandy can be a guy's name?

Wasn't Annie's dog Sandy a boy dog?

[ATFFL]

Sandy can be a guy's name?

I went to school with a man named Beverly.  We called him Bev.

[freedomburns]

If this is the best you can do for something to get righteously indignant about, you guys need to go find a hobby or something.  This is molehill stuff.  Nothing will come of it.  Rant all you like.  Nothing will come of it.

[Mort from NewYawk]

If this is the best you can do for something to get righteously indignant about, you guys need to go find a hobby or something.  This is molehill stuff.  Nothing will come of it.  Rant all you like.  Nothing will come of it.

I don't think so:

Lead story on CNN's home page right now.

On NY Times home page, and front page tomorrow.

Lead U.S. story on Google News.

And on and on....

[Wakie]

If this is the best you can do for something to get righteously indignant about, you guys need to go find a hobby or something.  This is molehill stuff.  Nothing will come of it.  Rant all you like.  Nothing will come of it.

Lead story on CNN's home page right now.

But according to agcat (in another thread) the "liberal media" is trying to suppress the story.  Yeah right.  Yet there is nothing about the new Iraqi PM shooting prisoners.

[NHPolitico]

It's hard to tell right now what will come of this.

On one hand, CNN reports that Justice Department prosecutors have rejected several offers from former Berger's lawyer to resolve the eight-month long investigation. Two sources associated with the investigation told CNN that lawyer Lanny Breuer made a detailed statement of Berger's view of the facts at issue several months ago. According to the unnamed sources, Berger has offered to talk to the Justice Department about a resolution to the probe. Also Deputy Attorney General James Comey said today, "It is against the law for anyone to intentionally mishandle classified information, either by taking it to give to somebody else, or by mishandling in a way that is outside the regulations of government information....We take issues of classified information very, very seriously....It's our lifeblood to keep secrets. All felonies in the federal system bring with them the promise of jail time. That's all I can say about that."

-BUT-

CBS Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts reports Berger returned to the archives all but two of the documents - which he believes he accidentally threw away. An FBI search of his home in January turned up nothing. And late Tuesday, law enforcement sources say they don't expect charges to be filed.


So, who knows?

[freedomburns]

It's hard to tell right now what will come of this.

On one hand, CNN reports that Justice Department prosecutors have rejected several offers from former Berger's lawyer to resolve the eight-month long investigation. Two sources associated with the investigation told CNN that lawyer Lanny Breuer made a detailed statement of Berger's view of the facts at issue several months ago. According to the unnamed sources, Berger has offered to talk to the Justice Department about a resolution to the probe. Also Deputy Attorney General James Comey said today, "It is against the law for anyone to intentionally mishandle classified information, either by taking it to give to somebody else, or by mishandling in a way that is outside the regulations of government information....We take issues of classified information very, very seriously....It's our lifeblood to keep secrets. All felonies in the federal system bring with them the promise of jail time. That's all I can say about that."

-BUT-

CBS Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts reports Berger returned to the archives all but two of the documents - which he believes he accidentally threw away. An FBI search of his home in January turned up nothing. And late Tuesday, law enforcement sources say they don't expect charges to be filed.


So, who knows?

I know.  Reread that last sentence.  Nothing will come of it.  Molehill stuff.  A fine example of the conservative media using misdirection and distortion to lead people away from thinking about the real issues of the day.

[NHPolitico]

No, the point is that it's in flux. Not that it's resolved in his favor.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[M]

Sandy can be a guy's name?

Ever hear of Sandy Koufax?

And Annie's buy dog is named Sandy. She calls him Sandy, see, because of his noce Sandy color.

[freedomburns]

No, the point is that it's in flux. Not that it's resolved in his favor.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I actually have to agree politico.  We can't really know for sure.  This thing has to play itself out and we don't have enough to go on yet.  What I have heard sounds like no jail time, possibly not even charges.  He will probably get some form of rebuke short of criminal charges.  

Ashcroft's Justice Department wants to do it's investigation, and drag this thing out, and milk it for all it's worth.  It's interesting that although this investigation has been underway for eight months it somehow *conveniently* was leaked right before the 9/11 Commision report comes out and the Democratic National Convention.  This is all too coincidental, that they are able to find a tenuous link between Kerry and Berger with which to paint Kerry as weak or unreliable on defense.  It distracts from the issues, and it is (no pun intended) a big nothingburger.

[??????????]

This is Kerrys Watergate....Kerry will be toast if their is a God in heaven.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

This happened like 9 months ago.
Why are we hearing about it now?
There are plenty of much more interesting 9 month old Bush scandals that the media never reported much on.

[??????????]

This happened like 9 months ago.
Why are we hearing about it now?
There are plenty of much more interesting 9 month old Bush scandals that the media never reported much on.

Typical double standard. If a Democrat steals top secret documents the excuse is, "Well it happened 9 months ago. Why bring it up now?" or "Clinton didn't sell us out to the Chinese". Get over the BS and see this guy committed a crime. If you are that partisan you need to get a life and stop making excuses.

[Wakie]

This happened like 9 months ago.
Why are we hearing about it now?
There are plenty of much more interesting 9 month old Bush scandals that the media never reported much on.

Typical double standard. If a Democrat steals top secret documents the excuse is, "Well it happened 9 months ago. Why bring it up now?" or "Clinton didn't sell us out to the Chinese". Get over the BS and see this guy committed a crime. If you are that partisan you need to get a life and stop making excuses.

And how did you react in 2000 when a few days before the election the story about Bush DUI arrest break?