John L. Perry
Thursday, July 22, 2004

“The timing speaks for itself,” said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in a transparent attempt to divert attention from what Berger did by painting its disclosure as something political, unheard of in the nation’s capital.

You bet, it speaks for itself. This is a political year, in which the body politic elects a president. The Berger incident has an obvious bearing on the presidential campaign of John Kerry, since Berger was one of three A-level Democrats helping Kerry craft his national-security policies. So it should have been ignored?

See No Evil …

Would the senator have this caper swept under the carpet, out of public eyesight, until after the election is over?

What she’s really saying is that it’s all right to violate federal law protecting the security of the nation’s top-secret documents but politically incorrect to mention the subject while voters can still take it into consideration.

Berger says he made “an honest mistake” by doing what he, himself, acknowledges was a violation of law. What’s “honest” about breaking the law?

Sorry, but a mistake is when you slip and call your wife by the name of your old girl friend. A mistake is when you are so groggy in the morning that you put on one brown sock and one blue.

Didn’t Get Away With It

The only unintended consequence of President Clinton’s one-time national security advisor’s repeated visits to the National Archives was his getting caught.

Berger said it was something that “I deeply regret.” Had he not been caught in the act, by alert Archives monitors on duty to detect just such criminal behavior, would he now be saying he made a “mistake”? Would he now be expressing “regret” for his deeds?

Berger states, by way of exculpation, that he “inadvertently” made off with secret documents, not all of which he returned. The implication being that it was like reflexively sticking a hotel ballpoint pen in his shirt pocket without realizing he was doing it.

Not a Top-Secret Bic

But these were classified files and notes, several of them, no plastic pen, that he stuffed into his clothing, including his socks, according to Archives monitors who were watching him.

Is he in the habit of padding his garments with files wherever he goes? Was he insulating himself against the cold outside? It’s not that frigid in Washington in October.

On several occasions, Berger gained entry to the secure room in the National Archives set up specifically for the 9/11 Commission to view, but not remove, pertinent documents. Did he do so each time with absolutely no intention of absconding with secret files?

If so, why always bring along a convenient leather case, into which he states he “inadvertently” inserted some of the purloined documents? Why did he have it open if he wasn’t going to add something?

It’s No Secret What Secret Means

Did Berger not know the documents were classified? Did he think it was necessary for him to go down the Mall and climb the steps into that building to gain access to pieces of paper that were readily available to the public like downloadable Internet documents? What did he think those Archives monitors were doing there, admiring his expensive suit? Protecting the walls from graffiti?

If, as Berger now says, he knew what he was doing was wrong, why do it? If it wasn’t wrong, why sneak the documents out the door? And not just once, but on successive visits?

Berger says, in his defense, that he was “sloppy.” Clumsy or adroit has nothing to do with it. What Berger was doing was arrogantly acting surreptitiously. He was a sneak, not a klutz.

No Joking Matter

Take it from one who has gone through the rigors of three full-field investigations for top-secret security clearance and has worked with classified documents for two presidents. This is serious big-boy stuff, not fit for use in the same sentence with words like “inadvertent” or “mistake.” And “sorry” doesn’t cut it under federal law.

Berger is no stranger in security land. National secrets have been the warp and woof of this man’s professional career, now in shambles. He knows the National Archives is no local lending library.

Is absolutely everything stamped “classified” truly worthy of being a national secret? Possibly not, but those documents Berger got his paws on and spirited out of secure safekeeping are, by anyone’s definition, critical to the nation’s security in this War on Terror.

Not Funny

Coming to Berger’s defense, President Clinton said, “We were all laughing about it.” No doubt.

The contents of those documents have no business falling into the hands of those who have vowed to destroy the United States, no business being used by political campaign professionals or amateurs to advance any party’s candidate, no business being removed from their rightful, necessary, legal archive.

Some of those rushing to mitigate Berger’s shifty activities have said it’s all a big nothing because copies of those documents are floating all over Washington.

Oh, really? If so, then those being so dismissive are obligated to come forward and state who has them and how they got them.

There Is A Reason

Documents don’t just become classified by some mystique. Every single classified document is classified by a legally empowered federal authority. It stays classified until that same legally empowered authority declassifies it.

Was Berger a cute Katzenjammer Kid up to harmless monkeyshines mischief? Hardly.

This bird knew full well what he was doing. It will be extremely interesting to learn what his actual motivation was to take this horrendous risk – to his career, his personal freedom and, what’s more importantly at stake, the security of the nation he has on more than one occasion sworn to serve.

Berger is receiving some tepid atta-boys for “removing himself” from further service to the Kerry campaign until all this is cleared up to everyone’s satisfaction.

Sandy? Sandy Who?

Does anyone really believe this was a selfless act on Berger’s part, taken without any consultation with or connivance of Kerry, himself?

It took John Kerry – that oft-documented agile flip-flopper – less than a day to sanitize himself of Sandy Berger as a key campaign adviser.

Sometimes that ploy works, sometimes not.

This is one of those times not.

John L. Perry, a prize-winning newspaper editor and writer who served on White House staffs of two presidents, is a regular columnist for NewsMax.com.