Stole classified documents, but at least he didn’t use an e-mail server

Sandy "Socks" Berger died this week. He's the Clinton official who stole classified documents from the national archives that were needed for the 9/11 investigation. I can't find out if he ever served his sentence or paid his fine. He was a crook and a thief, and loyal to his President. He was a Clintonian, after all. Serving time is for people like Martha Stewart. Obama called him a leader and humanitarian.  He’s on the list of Clinton staff who believed Saddam had WMD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Berger

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/2/sandy-berger-clinton-security-adviser-dies/

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/sandy-berger-national-security-adviser-216344

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16706-2005Mar31.html

Did she hid them In her socks?

“The FBI found a substantial amount of classified information improperly secured on the personal computer of disgraced CIA director Gen. David Petraeus’ mistress, sources said yesterday.

The files were discovered on a machine removed from Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte, NC, home as the feds investigated her sordid affair with the military commander whose biography she co-wrote.

Investigators also found documents Broadwell admitted taking from secure government buildings, a source told ABC News, adding the government demanded that they all be returned.”

How did this man ever manage something as complicated as the “surge” if he can’t stay out of messes like this?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/paula_had_top_secrets_WukhCN61iSxyauU5ErBAtK

Remember David Gergen of the Clinton WH said Sandy Berger hiding classified documents in his socks was innocent, too.

Archivist or Librarian--does anyone care?

"On July 28, President Obama announced his intent to nominate David S. Ferriero to the position of Archivist of the United States. Mr. Ferriero currently serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries (NYPL). Mr. Ferriero succeeds Professor Allen Weinstein who resigned as Archivist last December." National Coalition for History

Well, he's not an archivist, and as a librarian I can tell you these are different specialties, but it's much closer than the Librarian of Congress ever came to being a librarian. And closer than the last guy, Allen Weinstein who had been a history professor, writer, editor and head of a think tank/non-profit. These position usually don't change with the administration but he has Parkinson's Disease and cited ill health. It's probably just a title and I wish him well. To the victor belongs the archives. And the appointments.

And it requires confirmation! Since none of the czars do, and they will affect our lives far more than this position, it's time to demand a little sunlight on them. There are plenty more Van Joneses in the O-Administration; besides it sounds like he's just moved on over to John Podesta's Center for American Progress Action Fund. Sandy Berger's daughter works there. He definitely had a strong NARA connection. (He's the guy who stole the documents from the Archives and stuffed them in his socks.) See Guide to the Political Left for information on CAP.

Cool clips

Being a print person myself, I claim no fascination with podcasts of important events. Even less for unimportant. The NARA Presidential Libraries archivists are providing an opportunity for you to listen to "cool clips"-- podcasts of events, trivial and policy, in our Presidents' lives. Here's the description as it appeared in the Society of American Archivists October newsletter:

"Presidential Libraries Launch Podcast
Using technology to bring its unique holdings to the public, the Presidential Libraries of the National Archives and Records Administration announced August 2 its podcast series, “Presidential Archives Uncovered.” It features audio clips from the libraries' collection, ranging from serious policy discussions between the President and his advisors to conversations among Presidential family members. In one of the audio clips President and Mrs. Nixon discuss the pandas' arrival at the National Zoo in 1972, following the President's historic trip to the People's Republic of China earlier that year. A new clip will be added each month. Audio is free and available on the Presidential Libraries' podcast website and at iTunes: Presidential Library Podcasts."

I'm not sure why we need the panda discussion or the one where Lady Bird calls Lyndon on August 4, 1964 (Gulf of Tonkin crisis and discovery of the bodies of civil rights workers). And I could do without little synthesizer ta-da at the beginning. Also, voice overs by women need to be selected more carefully for tone, volume and diction. I had to increase the sound for her introduction, then set it back for the content. I didn't expect a Barbara Jordon (who spoke with the voice of God), but . . . she sounds as timid and tentative as the gal who let Sandy Berger steal documents from the NARA. New information on the Berger thefts here.

4423

When Blacks are sentenced

Michael Vick, a black football player, is to get 23 months for dog fighting. And he deserves every minute and I hope they get the rest of the ring because these fights don't happen with only one guy. However, I'm looking forward to the day when a big, burly NBA or NFL guy gets 23 months for beating up his wife or girlfriend. She usually ends up dropping the charges and he might get a reprimand and returns to the court or field to make millions for an industry that looks the other way. (And yes, I've heard of Mike Tyson, but that's a different "sport.") Oprah or another woman's show occasionally covers the topic, but the media doesn't give nearly the attention it gives the dogs. Or how about jailing the creeps who sing and dance about the bodies of females encouraging assaults with easily recognisable hate speech?

Then there's Conrad Black who's been sentenced to 6.5 years for cheating the shareholders of Hollinger International (now Sun-Times Media Group), mail fraud and obstruction of justice. He was caught on a security camera removing 13 boxes of documents from his office. Sandy Berger, Bill Clinton's national security adviser, was caught also--stole important documents about the Clinton administration response to terrorism from the National Archives, destroyed them, and then lied about it. He got no jail time. Didn't I see somewhere that he was working in Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign? He should be doing more time than either Vick or Black.

Hsus and Socks

I heard today on radio (Jim Quinn and Rose Tennent) that Sandy "the socks" Berger-Burglar is going to join the Clintons to get Hillary elected. So they've got Hsus (pronounced Shoes) and Socks on their team. Isn't he a felon? Or does stealing from the National Archives not count as much as saying "phony soldier" on air about a real phony soldier in the Democratic playbook. I don't remember any Senate condemnation of Berger that took over a week of their time. What I wrote in April:

I am very concerned that the Justice department covered for the Clinton administration official in not breathing a word about the Sandy Berger burglarly and crimes at the National Archives in front of the 911 commission. That whole investigation was done not knowing he was a criminal. Who knows what was compromised or why Gonzalez let this happen. He was supposed to take a lie detector test, but Justice hasn't followed up on that either. I'm also concerned that certain National Archives employees attempted to "catch him" on their own, without reporting him, and possibly bungled the burglary. They should be fired. They way overstepped their responsibility by trying to second guess his motives and behavior and should have called their supervisor or security.

3883

Sandy vs. Scooter

"Why the "unusually harsh sentence," as William Otis, a former federal prosecutor who served on the advisory committee on sentencing guidelines, put it? Because, the judge explained, "people who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation not to do anything that might create a problem." Of course, Sandy Berger, national security adviser to Bill Clinton, hid original documents on his person, took them out of the National Archives, destroyed them, and lied to investigators. One might think of this as "creating a problem." But Berger got no prison time and a fine one-fifth that imposed on Libby." Kristol

But then, Berger was a Democrat. The President has the power to pardon, even for a such a strange non-crime as this.

Live Breathe and Die: "In recent years, the Democratic playbook has included talking points designed to convince Americans that the Republican Party is mired in corruption. The phrase that Democrats incorporated into their public pronouncements was a Republican ‘culture of corruption.’ As evidence of this, they point to Scooter Libby, charged with lying to a grand jury. They also point to the political witch-hunt in Texas where charges had been brought against Republican, Tom Delay.

What the press sweeps under the rug though is the ongoing evidence of true corruption in the Democratic Party. Unlike Scooter Libby, who apparently had lapses in memory, getting dates mixed up, many prominent Democrats were caught red handed, intentionally sticking their hands in the cookie jar. There are varying degrees of crime, and the real criminal intent seems to be on the side of the Democrats. Whether or not the public hears about the culture of corruption amongst the Dems is another story."

3706 The Justice Department and Sandy Bergler

The AG should have the right to fire anyone he hired into a political appointment. I'm not the least bit worried about "politics" in a political appointee position. And I don't give a tooten e-mail about their system (except that pols aren't catching on to the problem that e-mails and IMs don't just go away whether you're setting up a date or a sting). I am very concerned that the Justice department covered for the Clinton administration official in not breathing a word about the Sandy Berger burglarly and crimes at the National Archives in front of the 911 commission. That whole investigation was done not knowing he was a criminal. Who knows what was compromised or why Gonzalez let this happen. He was supposed to take a lie detector test, but Justice hasn't followed up on that either. I'm also concerned that certain National Archives employees attempted to "catch him" on their own, without reporting him, and possibly bungled the burglary. They should be fired. They way overstepped their responsibility by trying to second guess his motives and behavior and should have called their supervisor or security.