A judge on Thursday ordered Sandy Berger, President Clinton’s national security adviser, to pay a $50,000 fine for illegally taking classified documents from the National Archives.
The punishment handed down by U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson exceeded the $10,000 fine recommended by government lawyers. Under the deal, Berger avoids prison time but he must surrender access to classified government materials for three years.
"The court finds the fine is inadequate because it doesn’t reflect the seriousness of the offense," Robinson said, as a grim-faced Berger stood silently.
Earlier in the hearing, Berger expressed remorse for his crime, which he described as a lapse of judgment that came while he was preparing to testify before the Sept. 11 commission.
Why would Berger feel compelled to destroy evidence in "preparing to testify before the Sept. 11 commission? Were any of those documents related to Able Danger? Huh? Were they? How would he have known what to destroy? Huh? There’s a lot of questions unanswered regarding Berger’s actions that need to be asked and investigated. And I bet they would all point to Jamie Gorelick.
More blogs on: Sandy Berger, Jamie Gorelick, 911 Commission, Able Danger
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