Andy ("Pretty In Pink") McCarthy Rips Sandy Berger

So, the House has announced they're going to put him under oath and question him about stealing documents.

Perfect timing. Congress is out of session, and won't be back until after the elections for a lame-duck session. And after that, the Democrats take control, in all likelihood, and immediately end the hearings.

Ah, well.

Just to remind everyone of what this bastard did.

Probation. He got two years probation. Two years probation for lying to investigators, lying to the 9/11 commission, deliberately stealing highly-classiified documents, and deliberately destroying those documents.

Contrary to Libby’s situation, the essential facts of Berger’s case do not seem to be in dispute. Because of his high-level position, Berger was permitted access to the national archives to prepare for his commission testimony (and to help prepare President Clinton for his). He used that public trust as an opportunity to filch, on at least two occasions, highly classified information — stuffing some of it into his clothing to avoid detection. This bizarre behavior caused authorities to investigate and discover the theft. In the ensuing investigation, Berger brazenly lied. He told the government that his undeniable removal of the intelligence was an honest mistake … only to admit later (as the Washington Times reported) that he had quite intentionally stuffed the documents into his pants, jacket and a leather portfolio.

That’s not the end of the story — not by a long-shot. Berger did not take just any documents. As recounted by National Review’s Byron York, among others, he took various drafts of a so-called “after-action report” prepared by top Clinton counterterrorism officials. The purpose of the report was to assess the Clinton administration’s 1999 performance in connection with terrorist threats that riddled the run-up to the millennium observance. Annotated on some of those copies is believed to be reactive commentary by some high-ranking Clinton officials. The report and the manner in which it was finalized were patently germane to the commission’s investigation.

...

Of course, as it turns out, Berger was not content merely to conceal the drafts of the after-action report. He has admitted deliberately destroying some of the documents he took. Unauthorized destruction of classified information, it bears noting, is yet another felony violation of federal law, carrying a potential ten-year penalty.

Sandy Berger needn’t worry about ten-year penalties, though. He needn’t concern himself with a prosecution for false statements or obstruction of justice. He needn’t sweat for two years over whether he will be charged with multiple black-and-white classified information violations.

No, Berger is home-free. Next year, when Scooter Libby starts trial on false-statement and obstruction-of-justice allegations that carry potential decades of jail time, Sandy Berger will be starting the second half of his two-year term of probation.

Read the whole thing.

And blame the Republicans. Who continually believe that if they give every benefit of every doubt to the Democrats, and attempt to treat lawbreaking, national-security-document destroying, perjuring, justice-obstructing thieves like Berger with mercy, they may receive some mercy in return.

They won't ever learn.

This isn't just politics. This an almost unfathomable breach of national security protocols, and serial obstruction of justice, but Clinton's former National Security Advisor.

And the media doesn't care.

Partly because the Republicans never made much of an issue of it. And partly because the Department of Justice decided, incredibly, to give the man a mulligan on the theft and destruction of national security documents.

The man should be spending 15 years in prison. Instead, he'll get his security clearances back in time for the 2008 election.

Flashback Funny: Sandy Berger Claims "Honest Mistake" in "Inadvertantly" Removing Ark of the Covenant From Secret Government Warehouse By Stuffing It Down His Pants.

posted by Ace at 03:47 PM

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