Sandy the Burglar

Martha Stewart lied to investigators about acts that fell short of the crime of "insider trading" -- and spent five months in prison. Former Clinton National Security advisor Sandy Berger "stole, and destroyed, classified documents as part of a politically motivated coverup," a crime punishable by up to 10 years in jail. On Thursday, the Department of Justice let Berger plead to a misdemeanor and "pay a $10,000 fine and accept a three-year suspension of his national security clearance." No jail time involved. It's "a slap on the wrist," absurd and outrageous, a "travesty of justice."

Powerline's John Hinderaker is properly appalled:

Berger illegally stuffed original documents relating to America's response to the threat of Islamic terrorism into his coat, pants and briefcase. Berger then destroyed a number of these top-secret documents, so that they will never see the light of day. The idea that this was "an honest mistake," as Berger now claims, is ridiculous. Obviously, he was trying to destroy documents that showed the negligence of the Clinton administration--of which he was a key member--in dealing with the threat of terrorism. Key documents relating to our government's inadequate reaction to the threat of Islamic terrorism prior to Sept. 11 are now gone forever, successfully purged from the historical record by one of Bill Clinton's most loyal servants. This plea bargain appears, on its face, to be a disgrace.

Worse than that, says NRO's Jim Geraghty, it's cynical politics:

Just what do you have to do to get your clearance pulled permanently? Start the clock, he can go back and start deleting memos that make him and his colleagues look bad starting in 2008 or so!

In other words, the three-year suspension is no accident--it allows Berger back in the White House in time to shred National Security documents for President Hillary.

John Cole compares Bush bashing to Berger's "get out of jail free" deal:

The Bush Administration is rightly castigated for whatever lapses they are responsible for that may have led to them ignoring or downplaying the terrorist threat prior to 9/11. However, we know that they were not acting in bad faith like some.

Cole also lines-up last year's quotes from the usual Democrat apologists -- Clinton, David Gergen, Lanny Davis, Tom Daschle and all-Democrat-all-the-time blogger Josh Marshall -- each of whom insisted Berger would never intentionally steal or shred. And, as Joe's Dartblog noticed, the biased Associated Press still won't tell readers Berger admitted his guilt: "The plea agreement, if accepted by a judge, ends a bizarre episode in which . . ." A crook is a crook is a crook—unless he’s a Democrat.

Even though Berger appears to have escaped any serious consequences, his admission should vitiate any remaining reliability of his self-serving 9/11 Commission testimony:

You also asked about the transition. When our administration ended, we alerted the incoming team to the terrorist threat and al Qaeda. During the transition, Bush administration officials received intensive briefings on this. As has been reported, I told my successor that she would be spending more time on terrorism and al Qaeda than any other issue. I did my best to emphasize the urgency I felt.

Geraghty wonders:

Do any Democrats want to confront the unpleasant truths of how the Clinton White House handled terrorism? Because there were some facts out there that were so damning, Sandy Berger was willing to break the law to make sure the public never saw them.

It's easy to blame the next guy after purging the evidence you were asleep on the job. Which is an apt summary of the conspiratorial ravings of the entire anti-war left. And, say Roger Simon and Chris Muir, a life raft for other crooked sleaze-balls:


Day-By-Day, April 1st (click to enlarge)

(via Instapundit)

More:

James Lileks:

Who among us hasn't shoved classified documents into his pants and jacket by accident? It happens.

You're reviewing some notes -- OK, classified notes, but it's not like they're the secret formula for Coke or anything. Somehow they get in your clothing. Maybe you're the sort of person who's always putting things in your pants, and every night you empty out the contents -- a gallon of milk, some lawn statuary, some D-cell batteries, one shoe, loose rosary beads. And hey, what's this? Dang: classified documents.

(via Hatless in Hattiesburg)