Former Clinton National Security Advisor, Sandy Berger is pleading guilty to taking classified documents from the National Archives.
FoxNews has the story (HT: La Shawn Barber).
I remember the details surrounding this story well. What I am most concerned about are the missing documents. According to the FoxNews article:
"He returned most of the documents, but still missing are some drafts of a sensitive after-action report on the Clinton administration's handling of Al Qaeda terror threats during the December 1999 millennium celebration."
I thought there was more to the story then, and I still think there is more that is not being said.
See Michelle Malkin and a previous post by La Shawn Barber for more detail.
Frankly, I don't like handling classified material due to all the rules, clearances, and signatures required. To callously disregard all these procedures for seemingly political reasons is an outrage.
Is Mr. Berger cooperating with investigators to determine who ultimately stood to benefit from the loss of these documents? Hmmm.
Unfortunately, I doubt an investigation will turn up anything...I could be wrong...we'll wait and see.
UPDATE: The WaPo is reporting that (emphasis added):
"The terms of Berger's agreement required him to acknowledge to the Justice Department the circumstances of the episode. Rather than misplacing or unintentionally throwing away three of the five copies he took from the archives, as the former national security adviser earlier maintained, he shredded them with a pair of scissors late one evening at the downtown offices of his international consulting business.
The document, written by former National Security Council terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke, was an "after-action review" prepared in early 2000 detailing the administration's actions to thwart terrorist attacks during the millennium celebration. It contained considerable discussion about the administration's awareness of the rising threat of attacks on U.S. soil."