Has Sandy Berger been cleared of charges?

[blueblitzkrieg]

Sorry if I'm out of the loop and this has been discussed already but I was listening to Randi Rhodes and she brought this up. There is a Wall Street Journal article in yesterday's paper that said Sandy Berged has been cleared (on page 6 or 7 she said). Funny how the media has no problem pouncing all over him with allegations but when this comes out they're noticeably quiet. Couldn't get the article because you have to be a paid member, but I found an excerpt of it over at FreakRepublic. Here it is:
"
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...."

Thoughts???

[pinniped]

1. Cleared.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x717576

[blueblitzkrieg]

2. Ah okay!

I'd figured you guys had talked about it but I didn't see it anywhere. My eyes must have glazed right over it. :crazy:

[KharmaTrain]

3. They Knew This Last Week...And The Week Before

All this crap on Berger for what? Sorry for the obvious question.

I posted early last week, when this crap was flying that it would have no effect on the 9/11 report and that after it was released, he'd be cleared. But where is the media and their attempts to clarify their errors?

No Berger didn't take originals or attempt to doctor his own reports. No, Berger didn't stuff documents...one asshole claimed 170 pages, in his socks, shorts or anywhere. No, Berger isn't a "threat to national security" as a high ranking Repugnican Congressman said.

This was a coordinated hit job to embarass Kerry and take Berger out of play for the meanwhile or to make him the future lightning rod for the right wing. As usual, charges based on lies, assumptions based on distortions. Who in the media has the guts to stand up and say enough??

[RowWellandLive]

4. Sorry

but this guy admitted to "inadvertently" taking classified papers from the National Archives and somehow "losing" or "misplacing" some of them. This is not excusable or acceptable. Whether it is criminal or not I don't know. What Berger has admitted to is at the very least a gross violation of the standards of the handling of classified materials. Can you not see that or are you so blinded by your hatred of the Republicans to see the errors of our own? Kerry did. He fired him. As well he should have. Be gone Sandy Berger, and he should go to jail.

[sandnsea]

5. No he did not

He took copies and his own notes, that's what he said. NOT any classified papers. The 9/11 commission said there were no documents that they asked for that they didn't get. The Republicans LIED. They made up a story out of thin air and spread it all over the media. To try to embarrass the Democratic convention. Are you so out of touch or so blinded by, I don't know what, that you can't see the truth? They do it all the time. And Kerry did not fire him, he simply said Berger wouldn't be involved as an adviser until the matter was cleared up. And now it is, but interestingly enough, NONE of the media are covering it.

I think you took a wrong turn around the wrong corner, sort of like George Bush.

[Robbien]

6. Here also?

Is this about the fifth thread today you are arguing for BushCo? I've lost count.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Robbien]

8. And what he did has probably been done by so many others

But because your BushCo wanted to flood the media with negative stories, Berger was put into the fire. Just the same tactic as Plame.

Your BushCo will flog a wounded vet to get into power.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[saracat]

12. I would think lying to the American people to take the

country to war is a "violation of the rules and * should be punished".And as of yet it hasn't happened. In fact, it is considered treasonos to mention it.Odd that doesn't seem to bother either you or the mainstream media.I think you have to deal with that and "grow up" or " lose all credibility". Berger was cleared. Bush wasn't.End of story.Berger wasn't a screwup, he was a Bushco frameup.

[tooie]

16. Berger screwed up.

He should have known better, he embarassed Kerry at the wrong time. He's gone - good riddance.

Get over it, some people do screw up on their own, and when called on it, they should own up to it. His activities WILL be used to point up alleged incompetence of other to cover for *. Why give him the ammo ??

[Lerkfish]

9. well....

since he was cleared of any wrongdoing, by people who should know, one wonders why you insist the truth is otherwise?

and before you even go there, my small mind can count by twos and I can tie my shoes...

[Robbien]

11. deleted, sorry linked wrong

[papau]

13. He violated library rules by not getting his notes approved before

taking them home.

Only the archive says that xerox copies they made available to him did not come back 100% intact - perhaps 2 pages missing.

It is just as likely that they forgot to xerox those pages in the first place.

[bowens43]

14. Nonsense. No documents were removed.

He took out his notes. That's it. Nothing else.

[Ruby Romaine]

15. Have you ever used an archive? Do you know what a finding aid is?

or a linear ft?
If you ever set foot in an archive, you'd know that acid-free
archival boxes are full of loose papers, file folders, photos, envelopes and other materials.
Usually not much is bound so it's very easy to get things mixed up. Go to your closest research library/special collections and you'll see what I mean.

Below is a sample from a finding aid describing the contents of one archival box.
Try keeping that straight- especially if you are a slightly disorganized "absent-minded professor" type!

Box 1
Budget and Treasurer Reports, 1982-1985 and 1991
Box 1
By-Laws, 1961-1982 and undated
Box 1
Clippings, 1962-1987 and undated
Committees
Box 1
ACLU Committee on Lesbian Women and Gay Men, 1981-1983
Box 1
Equal Rights Committee, 1961-1963 and undated
Box 1
Other Committees, 1962-1963 and undated
Correspondence
External
Box 1
1959-1962
Box 1
1963
Box 1
1964
Box 1
1965-1969
Box 1
1970-1979
Box 1
1980-1989
Box 1
1990-1993
Box 1
1994-1999
Internal
Box 1
1963-1966
Box 1
1971-1975
Box 1
1980-1989
Box 1
1990-1993
Box 1
1994-1999
Box 1
Elections, Officers, and Boardmembers, 1971-1998