NYT White House Knew of Inquiry on Aide; Kerry Camp Irked

[fearnobush]

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: July 22, 2004

WASHINGTON, July 21 - The White House said Wednesday that senior officials in its counsel's office were told by the Justice Department months ago that a criminal investigation was under way to determine if Samuel R. Berger, the national security adviser under President Bill Clinton, removed classified documents about Al Qaeda from the National Archives.

The White House declined to say who beyond the counsel's office knew about the investigation, but some administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they believed that several top aides to Mr. Bush were informed of the investigation. President Bush himself declined to answer a question Wednesday about whether he had been told, saying: "I'm not going to comment on this matter. This is a serious matter, and it will be fully investigated by the Justice Department."

The disclosure of the investigation forced Mr. Berger to step down as an informal, unpaid adviser to Senator John Kerry's campaign on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the campaign accused the White House of deliberately leaking news of the investigation and said that Vice President Dick Cheney was involved in strategies to divert attention from the Sept. 11 report to be issued Thursday.

"The timing of this leak suggests that the White House is more concerned about protecting its political hide than hearing what the commission has to say about strengthening our security," a statement issued by Mr. Kerry's campaign said.

More

<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/22/politics/22berger.html?hp>

[fearnobush]

1. This is where the Bushies and Tweeties arguements become mute.

The chief mystery surrounding the mishandling of the documents is the motive. Republican leaders and the Bush-Cheney campaign have suggested that Mr. Berger sought to pass classified information to Mr. Kerry. Ken Mehlman, the president's campaign manager, called on the Kerry campaign to provide "clear assurance to the American people that the Kerry campaign did not benefit from classified documents that were removed from the National Archives by one of their advisers, Sandy Berger, now subject to a criminal investigation."

But Mr. Kerry himself, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, would probably have access to any such documents, and the clearances to read them. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Berger's spokesman, Joe Lockhart, said: "Mr. Berger never passed any classified information to the Kerry campaign. Any suggestion to the contrary cannot be supported by any facts."

[Must_B_Free]

2. right - and Condid-it

and she was just mailing a pair of GAP pants...

GOP = Gorged on Poo

[demoman123]

3. I think Bill made him do it.

There may be something in the Millenium Memo that is embarrassing to Clinton.

"The documents that Berger has acknowledged taking -- some of which remain missing -- are different drafts of a January 2000 "after-action review" of how the government responded to terrorism plots at the turn of the millennium. The document was written by White House anti-terrorism coordinator Richard A. Clarke, at Berger's direction when he was in government."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A4189-2004Jul21?language=printer

[lancdem]

4. What exactly are you basing that allegation on?

I suspect the documents show the opposite, because the Clinton admin. foiled a number of terrorist plots planned for the millennium. But Richard Clarke would be the person who would know conclusively. Plus, these are only drafts. The final version is still around.

[merh]

5. Yeah, they are embarassed they stopped a major terrorist

attack - what are you goofy!

[Norquist Nemesis]

6. Oh please!

Taking copies of documents would not hide anything from the commission or other officials with access to the information.

[Hoping4Change]

7. Your speculation based on no facts is harmful. The fact is

that all originals are accounted for and furthermore these documents were already widely circulated. Had there been anything incriminating, it would have been discovered before now. There is absolutely nothing that supports your unfounded speculation.

Every Dem should sticking to the facts and not buy into the attempts to smear democrats.

:spank: