The Washington Post has the inside scoop of Sandy Berger's criminal act. As part of the plea bargain, Sandy Berger admitted this:
The question is, how different were the variations? Something interesting had to be on those documents for Berger to shred them. Of course, we won't know what that is. So much for it being an "honest mistake".Rather than misplacing or unintentionally throwing away three of the five copies he took from the archives, as the former national security adviser earlier maintained, he shredded them with a pair of scissors late one evening at the downtown offices of his international consulting business.
The document, written by former National Security Council terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke, was an "after-action review" prepared in early 2000 detailing the administration's actions to thwart terrorist attacks during the millennium celebration. It contained considerable discussion about the administration's awareness of the rising threat of attacks on U.S. soil.
Archives officials have said previously that Berger had copies only, and that no original documents were lost. It remains unclear whether Berger knew that, or why he destroyed three versions of a document but left two other versions intact. Officials have said the five versions were largely similar, but contained slight variations as the after-action report moved around different agencies of the executive branch.
And what will Berger get for all of this? A slap on the wrist:
Not surprised, but very disappointed. Berger should be behind bars, and should never receive national security clearance ever again.Under terms negotiated by Berger's attorneys and the Justice Department, he has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and accept a three-year suspension of his national security clearance.
I don't see why the Justice Department accepted a plea to begin with. Berger was obviously guilty, and they were never going to see those missing documents again. So what did the government get out of this?
I suppose Hindrocket's rant last night was right on the money.
UPDATE: I've been Instalanched. Instapundit readers - or if you're being referred from somewhere else, as I've done quite a few trackbacks this morning - welcome, and I hope you'll click the "home" link at the bottom of the post and look at some of the other posts I've written this week. Maybe some of you will become regular readers.
Previous posts:
1. Sandy Berger is busted.
