no one else has brought it up...

[lookout123]

ok, gotta ask? what in the world would a former NSA find worthy of smuggling out of the archives in his pants? the idea that this was just "sloppy" is laughable. if he were a 7th grader, maybe... not a former top official.

Berger and his lawyer, Lanny Breuer, said the former Clinton adviser knowingly removed the handwritten notes by placing them in his jacket and pants and inadvertently took copies of actual classified documents in a leather portfolio. He returned most of the documents, but some still are missing.

[Happy Monkey]

The "in his jacket and pants" part is scare words. I believe most rational people would have used the term "pockets". They used that phrase to make it sound like he was stuffing them down the front of his pants, and some even added his socks to the list.

As for why he did it, I've got no idea.

[lookout123]

i hadn't even thought he put them anywhere but pockets. the rest is just foolishness. the simple fact of the matter is that he knows better. it couldn't have been an accident. what in the world could have been in those documents that he was willing to risk federal prison?

[jaguar]

I'm sure there are plenty of things in classified archive that many a man would risk prison for.

[lookout123]

well... yea-ah - that is why they are classified. but in this instance, the former NSA who was involved with the creation of these documents, "accidentally" takes them out in his coat and pants pockets, and other in his leather portfolio, before he has to testify... you have to ask, what the hell in the documents was so damaging?

[Beestie]

Yet another stooge rolls over for Clinton. I wonder if all the Clinton stooges are planning a five-year reunion next year.

Stuffing documents in his trousers as scare words? He had a portfolio with him and he put some papers in the portfolio and some in his pockets. Portfolios are to be searched and the documents in them noted by archive staff when the person leaves. By placing "some" of the documents in his pockets, they were not identified by archive staff as being removed. Now, "some" of the documents are missing. Hellloooooo. Anybody home???

If a Bush flunkie did this, the left's collective head would be exploding.

[Happy Monkey]

Well, if he had any nefarious purpose, we'd know what was in them by now. He wasn't trying to cover them up - he only took copies, not originals. My best guess is that he bypassed security to make it easier to prepare his presentation. That's crime enough in itself without trying to make up a conspiracy theory.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Well, if he had any nefarious purpose, we'd know what was in them by now. He wasn't trying to cover them up - he only took copies, not originals.

i think the point is that there may have been something in there that he didn't want to see the light of day. and i think he did take some originals, he returned all but one document - which has been described as an early draft of another report that they have the final draft for.

[Beestie]

Accident? Sloppiness? I think this article speaks for itself:

Second, although Berger said he reviewed thousands of pages, he apparently homed in on a single document: the so-called "after-action report" on the Clinton administration's handling of the millennium plot of 1999/2000. Berger is said to have taken multiple copies of the same paper. He is also said to have taken those copies on at least two different days. There have been no reports that he took any other documents, which suggests that his choice of papers was quite specific, and not the result of simple carelessness.

Third, it appears that Berger's "inadvertent" actions clearly aroused the suspicion of the professional staff at the Archives. Staff members there are said to have seen Berger concealing the papers; they became so concerned that they set up what was in effect a small sting operation to catch him. And sure enough, Berger took some more. Those witnesses went to their superiors, who ultimately went to the Justice Department. (There was no surveillance camera in the room in which Berger worked with the documents, meaning there is no videotape record of the incidents.)

The documents Berger took — each copy of the millennium report is said to be in the range of 15 to 30 pages — were highly secret. They were classified at what is known as the "code word" level, which is the government's highest tier of secrecy. Any person who is authorized to remove such documents from a special secure room is required to do so in a locked case that is handcuffed to his or her wrist.

It is not clear why Berger would focus solely on the millennium-plot report. But it is clear that the report has been the object of intense discussions during the September 11 investigation.
...

Emphasis added by me.

Now he's saying he lost one/some of them?

[Happy Monkey]

No article I've seen said he took originals. They said he took copies of documents, and his original notes. The unreturned documents are copies. While technically his notes are classified until reviewed, I don't think that's what you meant. So the only way he could be covering someting up is if he inadvertently wrote something incriminating in his notes.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Beestie

Accident? Sloppiness? I think this article speaks for itself:

From that article:

It is not clear how many copies of the report exist. Nor is it clear why Berger was so focused on the document. If he simply wanted a copy, it seems that taking just one would have been sufficient. But it also seems that Berger should have known that he could not round up all the known copies of the document, since there were apparently other copies in other secure places. Whatever the case, the report was ultimately given to the September 11 Commission.

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[xoxoxoBruce]

Heh, heh, heh.

[Undertoad]

"socks" was not a scare word. CNN via Newsmax via Andrew Sullivan:

Reports CNN's Bob Franken: "Three law enforcement sources talking to CNN's Justice Department correspondent Kelli Arena [say] they saw him, or that he had been seen, putting documents in his socks."

[Undertoad]

[Griff]

Heh, I had access to cable tv yesterday, you'd think Fox and CNN were reporting on completely different stories. I'll assume for now that they are both full of crap. I am starting to remember why the Clinton administration was so annoying.