Sandy Berger Pleads Guilty to Taking Classified Material from the National Archives

Story dated 31 March 2005

This took way too long. They had the evidence to get a conviction a long time ago. Why didn't they just go to trial? Berger still claims that he accidentally stuffed documents into his socks and underwear. I really hope he gets jail time. I am sick of seeing government officials (and former officials) do things that would get me sent to prison and not get punished for it. All Martha Stewart did was lie to federal investigators. They didn't have any evidence of securities fraud, so they got her any way they could. Sandy Berger, Clinton's former national security advisor, actually took the documents. This fact is undisputed. It is the primary charge. If the Feds are willing to get Steward on a charge of lying because they have no primary case, they had better be willing to sent Berger to prison since they have succeeded in their primary case against him. If he doesn't go to prison, there is something seriously wrong with our country.

For those of you who are unaware, the guidelines for what constitute "lying to a federal investigator" are very broad (broad enough to include Clinton's perjury in court and he did no prison time). Investigators are permitted to lie to you as much as they want in an investigation. If you lie to them, you will go to jail like Martha Stewart. If they have it in for you, they have the discretion to construe what someone else would consider an honest mistake as a lie. This is why I don't recommend ever saying anything to federal investigators unless you have certain knowledge that it is true. This is also why I get so worked up over Martha Stewart's conviction. I personally think it was a criminal act to send her to prison. The government could not produce an injured party, but they sent her to prison anyway. With our money. They used your money and my money to send her to prison. Does this bother you? The government could not produce an injured party, but they felt it was an appropriate expenditure of your money to go ahead with the prosecution. In the Berger case, there is an injured party -- the Government (the people). Government property was stolen. If he doesn't go to prison, it will prove that our government only exists to steal from us and to help itself.

posted by The Sovereign Editor | 1:26 PM

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