How... after Norman Hsu, who was caught rounding up illegal cash for the Clinton campaign, could she blatantly hire Sandypants burgler, who stole (in his pants and socks)original documents from the National Archives that he was allowed to view as part of preparation to his testimony before the 9/11 investigation committee! He was convicted. Does this trouble you? Are we and the victims of 9/11 missing something here?

Story:

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - 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.

Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly are going to have a FIELD DAY over this...

Politicas aside, I think the government offered the victims of 9/11 an 800-page, nameless whitewash as to exactly who and what let them down. This doesn't look good, even if it is..

Imagine if Bush hired a convicted criminal to pick his tie out every morning.

Wait, so this guy can actually get his security clearnece back this time next year? That's horse $***.

Clinton wasn't going to win to begin with. But this just adds to the already very long list of her issues.

if she wins the nomination i think i might actually vote for her breaking me string of republican only streak. 

its her health care plan that is winning my vote.
absolutly nothing else.

smite me if you must but im only being honest

There is no evidence, much less proof, that Berger stole original documents. It was just copies. And while what he did was wrong and he deserved the punishment he got, it was only a misdemeanor charge. I think you are making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Oh... and where is your link?


Well... I would be relieved if all the participants in the Iran/Contra scandal who are now working for the government under Bush were just picking out his tie but they are doing a lot more than that.


http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020311/corn

Does this trouble you SuperChicken?

Actually... that is a good point...


I never thought you a "federal healthcare" kinda guy.

The only one (I think)involved who is advising the President was Bush41...who was never charged with anything. Whereas Sandy recieved a misdemeanor on the condition he take a ploygraph test, which he never did. I'm looking foward to you, and Mr. Berger, and the Clintons being exonerated when the result of that polygraph are released. ................................

WASHINGTON —  The Justice Department should administer a polygraph test to former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger to find out what documents he took from the National Archives in 2002 and 2003, Rep. Tom Davis wrote in a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dated Monday.

Davis, ranking Republican on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is leading a group of 18 lawmakers who say the Justice Department has been "remarkably incurious" about Berger's decision to remove documents relating to the Sept. 11 commission's inquiry into his role in helping prevent terror attacks during the Clinton administration.

"It is extraordinarily important that the Justice Department avail itself of its rights under the plea agreement and administer a polygraph examination to Mr. Berger to question him about the extent of his thievery. This may be the only way for anyone to know whether Mr. Berger denied the 9/11 commission and the public the complete account of the Clinton administration's actions or inactions during the lead up to the terrorist attacks on the United States," Davis wrote.

The letter was signed by all Republican members of Congress.

Berger admitted to taking documents on two of the four occasions he went to the National Archives to bone up on his responses for the Sept. 11 commission on his inquiry into how intelligence and law enforcement communities failed to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. He said he hid some of them at a construction site near the archives building in Washington.

Berger agreed to take a polygraph test as part of a plea deal reached in September 2005....


Fox News.

No you can't. Because I would never try to rationalize stealing classified documents. And if you want to try and rationalize supplying weapons to both sides of a war without sounding like a war loving idiot republican, go right ahead.

And you didn't answer my question... Does the fact that law breakers are working for Bush trouble you?