In the You've Got to Be Kidding Me Department, Hillary Clinton is now allowing U.S. National Archives thief Sandy Berger onto her campaign team:
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.” . . . .
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.”
Berger did not accidentally remove classified documents from the National Archives. He did so deliberately, with the likely motive of covering up Berger's and Clinton's negligence in the war on terror. There was no mere mistake here. This was an intentional cover-up through criminal activity carried out directly by a man who not long ago was at the highest levels of the Clinton Administration and the Democratic Party -- and whom Hillary, incredibly, seems determined to restore to that position again.
Let's consider just how deep was Berger's treachery. For all the Watergate-related errors of former president Richard Nixon for which he was hated, he did not steal classified documents from the United States National Archives.
If it was a "long national nightmare" for aides of Richard Nixon to break into a Democratic National Committee office, it was certainly a national nightmare for Bill Clinton's National Security Adviser to steal and destroy highly classified documents related to testimony before the 9/11 Commission from the National Archives of the United States of America.
If a Republican had stolen and destroyed such classified documents, hearings would still be going on in Congress and every day's news would bring fresh revelations, fresh demands for heads to roll, and additional charges or resignations. The press would be beating down doors with questions like these:
What was in the classified documents Berger destroyed?
Were additional documents destroyed?
Is this the first time Berger destroyed classified documents without authorization, or part of a much longer pattern that included his years in the White House?
Did anyone else participate in destroying classified documents without authorization?
Sandy Berger's theft of classified documents was no aberration. Yet when Bill Clinton learned what Berger had done, he made light of it. Was Bill Clinton surprised or dismayed by Berger's deceit? Of course not. Clinton's own track record for honesty was not exactly impressive. It takes a lot for a President of the United States to be impeached for perjury before a grand jury and for obstruction of justice, and suspended from the practice of law for five years.
But it isn't just Sandy Berger's outright criminal deceit that should make him a non-contender for any position involving public trust. He was also a policy failure as Bill Clinton's national security adviser. He presided over the failure to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden despite having him in the sights, and did nothing effective to stop the acquisition of nuclear technology by North Korea.
And this is the person Hillary Clinton selects to advise her on national security? Hillary Clinton's immediate circle now includes her husband who was suspended by the Arkansas bar for five years and disbarred from the U.S. Supreme Court bar after being impeached for committing perjury before a grand jury, and another man who pled guilty to destroying highly classified documents.
For some in government, daily decisions revolve around about what's best for the nation. If mistakes are made, they are honest mistakes. For others, honesty is not even on the radar as something to for which to strive. It's not about honor or duty. It's about power at any cost. Hillary Clinton is demonstrating which type of leader she aspires to be.
Update: Ed Morrissey adds:
This association carries much more liability than Hillary's work with convicted fraudster Norman Hsu. It goes to the heart of national security, and it reveals Hillary's priorities on that subject. She considers cronyism more important than protecting this nation's classified material, and shows her contempt for the latter by placing a convicted lawbreaker on her national security advisory panel. She and her husband have made excuses for Berger ever since his criminal activity took place, and now she wants to reintroduce him to sensitive material all over again.
Sammon may not have reported on a new story, but it's one that should come up again and again until Hillary either cuts Berger loose -- as John Kerry did, to his credit -- or loses an election for her association with him. She has no excuse for attempting to rehabilitate Berger and preparing him for a second assault on the National Archives. If elected, that's clearly what she's contemplating. And Hillary should be held accountable for it before he gets that opportunity.
I CERTAINLY HOPE the opponents of Hillary will capitalize on this to the fullest extent possible.
The issue runs to the heart of why Hillary is dangerous for America. She has poor political judgment, she is dishonest about her past political positioning, and her campaign financing debacle reprises Bill Clinton's fiasco with Chinese money.
But above all, she does not seem to know right from wrong. One does not hire a former political operative who has a criminal record like that of Sandy Berger.
Sandy Berger did not just get a parking ticket. He was discovered perpetrating crimes relating to high treason. The fact that the court was lenient is irrelevant. Sandy Berger has committed serious crimes against the American people.
This is not about 'gotcha', this is about preventing a dangerous person from becoming President.
Posted by: DemocracyRules | October 08, 2007 at 04:27 PM