Where is Sandy Berger anyway?
The Democrats disingenuously called for a closed door session in the Senate today and the claimed pretense was this;
Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that President Bush used in the run-up to the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.
Do they really want to get into this AGAIN?
Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) on CIA Leak Investigation Indictments;
“When the Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States is indicted in a criminal case, it is a sad day in the history of our government. While it is important to remember that an indictment is not a conviction, these charges are extremely serious. Our national security, intelligence protocols to protect covert agents and classified information must be protected. Witnesses under oath and in legal proceedings must tell the truth and be held accountable if they do not. The public’s confidence in government has been damaged by this matter and it must be restored. For this reason, Mr. Libby’s resignation is appropriate and necessary.
“This indictment is about serious violations of law. It is not about partisan politics or the war in Iraq. Whatever our party affiliation or opinion on the war, we all agree that perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to a grand jury are inexcusable criminal acts. That is where our shared focus should be so that today’s indictment does not become one more cause of debilitating political divisiveness in our government.”
Hang 'em high Lieberman?
Remember this? I do...
Sandy Berger is under scrutiny by the Justice Department following the disappearance of documents he was reviewing at the National Archives.
Berger's home and office were searched earlier this year by FBI agents armed with warrants after the former Clinton adviser voluntarily returned some sensitive documents to the National Archives and admitted he also removed handwritten notes he had made while reviewing the sensitive documents.
However, some drafts of a sensitive after-action report on the Clinton administration's handling of Al Qaeda terror threats during the December 1999 millennium celebration are still missing, officials and lawyers said. Officials said the missing documents also identified America's terror vulnerabilities at airports to seaports.
Berger and his lawyer said Monday night he knowingly removed the handwritten notes by placing them in his jacket, pants and socks, and also inadvertently took copies of actual classified documents in a leather portfolio.
There are laws strictly governing the handling of classified information, including prohibiting unauthorized removal or release of such information.
And what did Joe Lieberman have to say about that!?
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., called the news "surprising" and said that "unless we learn otherwise, I have to assume that what Sandy said was right -- that any removal of documents was inadvertent. But it is serious."
Wow, nearly an indentical statement with one difference. He had to assume Berger was right and the alledged crime was "inadvertent". But on Scooter Libby's alledged crimes he now seems to say he hopes the "...indictment does not become one more cause of debilitating political divisiveness...", without mention of presumed innocence!
As Kay Bailey Hitchinson (R-TX) derided;
...any potential perjury charge as a "technicality," and suggested Fitzgerald may be trying to show that "two years' of investigation was not a waste of time and dollars."
Hutchison's spokesman, Chris Paulitz, said on Monday that the senator was not commenting on any specific investigation, but rather "was expressing her general concern that perjury traps have become too common when investigators are unable to indict on any underlying crime."
So, is Lieberman saying he's willing to assume Libby's recollection of events may have been "inadvertent", but it is serious? Does he think we should now be satisfied with the "water under the damn"? If Lieberman hadn't been so marginalized within his own Party he's beliefs might actually account for something. It's a shame.
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