Berger Cleared of Withholding Material From 9/11 Commission
Berger Cleared of Withholding Material From 9/11 Commission
Heard first on NPR, but there's nary a peep from major news sources, not yet anyway. But it can be found in a SCOT J. PALTROW WSJ article which was printed on page A6. The story's been out there. Where's the coverage?!!!!
"Officials looking into the removal of classified documents from the National Archives by former Clinton National Security Adviser Samuel Berger say no original materials are missing and nothing Mr. Berger reviewed was withheld from the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks."
The conclusion by archives officials and others would seem to lay to rest the issue of whether any information was permanently destroyed or withheld from the commission.
Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper said officials there "are confident that there aren't any original documents missing in relation to this case." She said in most cases, Mr. Berger was given photocopies to review, and that in any event officials have accounted for all originals to which he had access.
That included all drafts of a so-called after-action report prepared by the White House and federal agencies in 2000 after the investigation into a foiled bombing plot aimed at the Millennium celebrations. That report and earlier drafts are at the center of allegations that Mr. Berger might have permanently removed some records from the archives. Some of the allegations have related to the possibility that drafts with handwritten notes on them may have disappeared, but Ms. Cooper said archives staff are confident those documents aren't missing either.
Daniel Marcus, general counsel of the 9/11 Commission, said the panel had been assured twice by the Justice Department that no originals were missing and that all of the material Mr. Berger had access to had been turned over to the commission. "We are told that the Justice Department is satisfied that we've seen everything that the archives saw," and "nothing was missing," he said.
Come on, media. Let's hear from the rest of you. Do you enjoy destroying a person's reputation for a story?
BBB do you have a link for this news?
Acquiunk
Acquiunk, since I'm not a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal, I had to access the article through another source:
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004_07_25_atrios_archive.html#109120115967690938
BBB
If anyone is a wall street journal subscriber and can access it's articles, it would be helpful to verify the article's existence and post it here.
BBB
The article is genuine. However, it is wholly beside the point. Berger stands accused not of witholding evidence but of improper handling of classified materiel. Whether or not Berger's actions in any way impacted the committee is irrelevant; those actions in, of, and by themselves were in violation of both established protocol and Federal Law. Why Berger did what he did is of no bearing re what he did. I expect the spinmeisters will attempt to give this "revelation" a whirl, but it cuts no ice. It is unnecessary for a criminal action to succeed for a crime to have been committed.
I wonder what the consequence is of "improper handling of classified material?" As a "violation of both established protcol and Federal Law" what exactly was the harm done? People break laws every day without being charged or prosecuted. Remember what happened at the nuclear lab in New Mexico? They charged one Chinese-American scientist while many others "violated established protocol and Federal Law." Seems these conservatives are good at myopic insights.
WSJ article: Berger was smeared
The American Progress
WAS BERGER SMEARED? Sure looks like it. The Wall Street Journal reports:
"Officials looking into the removal of classified documents from the National Archives by former Clinton National Security Adviser Samuel Berger say no original materials are missing and nothing Mr. Berger reviewed was withheld from the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Several prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, have voiced suspicion that when Mr. Berger was preparing materials for the 9/11 Commission on the Clinton administration's antiterror actions, he may have removed documents that were potentially damaging to the former president's record.
The conclusion by archives officials and others would seem to lay to rest the issue of whether any information was permanently destroyed or withheld from the commission.
Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper said officials there "are confident that there aren't any original documents missing in relation to this case." She said in most cases, Mr. Berger was given photocopies to review, and that in any event officials have accounted for all originals to which he had access.
That included all drafts of a so-called after-action report prepared by the White House and federal agencies in 2000 after the investigation into a foiled bombing plot aimed at the Millennium celebrations. That report and earlier drafts are at the center of allegations that Mr. Berger might have permanently removed some records from the archives. Some of the allegations have related to the possibility that drafts with handwritten notes on them may have disappeared, but Ms. Cooper said archives staff are confident those documents aren't missing either.
Daniel Marcus, general counsel of the 9/11 Commission, said the panel had been assured twice by the Justice Department that no originals were missing and that all of the material Mr. Berger had access to had been turned over to the commission. "We are told that the Justice Department is satisfied that we've seen everything that the archives saw," and "nothing was missing," he said."
It would have been nice for Tom DeLay, Duncan Hunter, and Dennis Hastert to withhold judgment for just a week or two before accusing Berger of deliberately pilfering documents and endangering national security for the purposes of covering up alleged intelligence snafus by the Clinton administration. And I wonder if Tom Davis will follow through with his "investigation" of Berger's dastardly deeds, now that the political usefulness of such a probe seems diminished.
This development doesn't leave Berger entirely in the clear -- it appears he still removed photocopies of classified material from the archives, and that's wrong. But I think the commission's comments militate against the motives ascribed by Berger's critics. It looks more and more like this was an honest mistake, although, again, not one that should be taken likely.
--Nick Confessore
Posted by tapped at 10:38 AM
cicerone imposter wrote: ... Remember what happened at the nuclear lab in New Mexico? They charged one Chinese-American scientist while many others "violated established protocol and Federal Law." Seems these conservatives are good at myopic insights.
C'mon, now, c.i. ... pay attention. The Los Alamos/China flap came and went during The Previous Administration's watch. It was handled by such noted neocons as Janet Reno and our freind ol' Sandy Berger himself, who, as NSA Chief, in April of '96 was notified by the DOE that a security breach had occurred, including the name of the alleged perpetrator. That "Spy", Wen Ho Lee, was fired for security violations ... almost 3 years later, in March of '99. Entering a guilty plea to the charge of mis-handling classified materiel, he avoided trial on more serious charges.
timber, I know you can't see it, but Mr Lee was "blackmailed" into pleading guilty - while all the others with the same "breach" was not penalized. Mr Lee is the only one who spent time in prison. Yeah, tell me about it.
timberlandko wrote:
C'mon, now, c.i. ... pay attention. The Los Alamos/China flap came and went during The Previous Administration's watch. It was handled by such noted neocons as Janet Reno and our freind ol' Sandy Berger himself, who, as NSA Chief, in April of '96 was notified by the DOE that a security breach had occurred, including the name of the alleged perpetrator. That "Spy", Wen Ho Lee, was fired for security violations ... almost 3 years later, in March of '99. Entering a guilty plea to the charge of mis-handling classified materiel, he avoided trial on more serious charges.
Well, I don't know "the truth" about this case, but even old links say different to your reply, timber.
And newer one's have a totally different view:
Quote:This isn't the first time that Los Alamos has had security problems. In 1999, when former US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson saw what the Taiwanese-American Los Alamos staffer Wen Ho Lee had downloaded and taken home, he could only exclaim, "Holy ****!" After that, Lee, who had previously worked closely with the FBI to protect US nuclear secrets, was manacled and put in cramped solitary confinement for nine months. The FBI whipped up a national frenzy of anti-Chinese hatred by singling out Lee for briefcase-based home working, rather the dozens of other scientists doing the same. In the end, the FBI had to drop 59 counts of espionage against Lee, who got off with a judge's apology simply by pleading guilty to the common - if largely overlooked - offence of copying classified documents without proper authorisation.
Source of Jul 29, 2004
I would say that's just an interpretation of the facts as I presented them, Walter ... not in any way a refutation of those facts. I neither levelled allegations nor offered defense of what happened, I merely said what happened.
There are high level officials at Los Alamos who are quite convinced there is much more to the Wen Ho Lee fiasco than what got reported, but Reno's group so botched the investigation that the truth got lost in the political fall out.
Though security never fully trusted Oppenheimer, the level of security at Trinity Site and during the Manhattan Project was nothing short of incredible and effective. For a good 15 to 20 years after WWII ended, Los Alamos remained a closed community under top security while weapons research continued. When Santa Fe High played Los Alamos, even our band bus was stopped and searched at the gate outside the city before we continued on in to the game.
Los Alamos is now fully open and anybody who wants to can live there and people come and go as they please except at the labs themselves. There security is as tight as ever in the restricted areas.
Right now we in New Mexico are holding our breath hoping the decision is not to close down the labs entirely due to the latest security breach. That would be a tremendous blow to the Northern New Mexico economy.
Perhps, they'll find someone again to sacrifice a pawn.
Acquitted, right?
Cycloptichorn
Well, since the GOP has discovered, much to its chagrin, that the Berger story has gained absolutely zero traction in the national media (probably because no one thinks it's all that important -- and rightly so), it was inevitable that the next step would be to
blame the media for failing to report the story.
Oops, sorry, I meant the
liberal media failed to report it.
