Stealing Classified Goverment Documents No Big Deal

Former Clinton National Security Advisor, Sandy Berger, will plead guilty to illegally taking classified documents from the Library of Congress back in the summer of 2004.

Not only did Mr. Berger take documents but he has failed to account for several of them that have never been returned. According to Fox News, among the missing documents is a sensitive "after-action report on the Clinton administration's handling of Al Qaeda terror threats during the December 1999 millennium celebration."

If I had done something like this I should have expected to be at least charged with a felony leading to some serious jail time. After all, such behavior ought to be deterred. Right? Wrong.

Apparently (Fox News again),

"The charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine."

A misdemeanor? A maximum sentence of one year in prison? You've got to be kidding?

I could get a year in jail by spray painting the word "love" on a federal building!

Burning a draft card used to carry a penalty of up to five years in prison. After all, a draft card was federal property (sort of). But so were the documents that Berger did not return. Isn't that the same as burning them? Perhpas he sold them for financial gain? Does anyone know?

In any case, shameful as it is, the outcome of this whole mess is not surprising.

Way back on July 23, 2004, La Shawn Barber predicted this outcome,

Berger is not going to jail because the old boy network has too much to lose if he does. Republicans and Democrats do this stuff, probably more than we all realize. Berger took the files to withhold information that makes Clinton look bad and used information that makes Kerry look good (to the unfortunate souls voting for him). That’s my assessment.

If Berger goes down for this, he’s taking a lot of people with him. That is why he’s not going to jail.

I think she got it spot on.