James Sensenbrenner, July 23, 2004

By now, many of you have heard that Former National Security Advisor to President Clinton, Sandy Berger, is being investigated by the Justice Department for removing classified documents from the National Archives in preparation of his testimony before the 9/11 Commission. Once again, Americans find themselves reading about yet another scandal involving the Clinton Administration.

It wasn’t all that long ago that we were reading about Whitewater, the shady real estate deal involving the Clintons and the McDougals in which the McDougals were ultimately found guilty of fraud. The Whitewater investigation uncovered other scandals, such as Monicagate, during which President Clinton lied under oath when questioned about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The Whitewater investigation also led to Travelgate, where Mrs. Clinton, like her husband in Monicagate, lied under oath about her role in the dismissal of employees at the White House Travel Office.

In Sandy Berger’s case, the Justice Department’s investigation began last October when archives staffers allegedly saw him stuffing documents in his socks and pants before leaving the special reading room at the archives. Mr. Berger has acknowledged that he took some documents that were drafts of a January 2000 "after action" review which was critical of the Clinton Administration’s response to terrorism plots at the turn of the century. According to Attorney General John Ashcroft, this plot in which international terrorists planned to attack America during the 2000 New Year’s celebrations, was thwarted with "luck playing a major role." Mr. Berger also acknowledged taking with him his notes of the documents he reviewed, another no-no, that one would expect a national security advisor to be aware of.

With Socksgate, the questions are many: did President Clinton have anything to do with this? Was Mr. Berger trying to mask the criticisms leveled against the Clinton Administration in the 2000 "after action" review? Was vital information withheld from the 9/11 Commission’s report? Or, as an advisor to the Kerry campaign, was he trying to provide the Senator with classified information? It’s hard not to be skeptical of Mr. Berger’s claims of innocence when we consider his years of experience dealing with sensitive information.

Revelations about Mr. Berger’s investigation came out the same week as the 9/11 Commission released its report. The Commission’s findings produce no smoking gun, and do not place blame at the feet of any single individual or institution. The 9/11 Commission’s report is very clear in its findings that the terrible events of September 11th could not reasonably have been prevented. Conversely, what is not clear is whether Mr. Berger is an irresponsible and absent-minded man, or a crook.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner, a Republican, represents the Fifth Congressional District of Wisconsin. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Fifth District of Wisconsin forms an arc surrounding Milwaukee to the North and West, and includes parts of Jefferson, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, and all of Ozaukee and Washington counties.