Thursday, July 22, 2004
Hints at Big House for Berger, U.S. Media Mum
NewsMax: Deputy Attorney General James Comey raised the specter of a jail sentence yesterday for Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger if he's found guilty.
Though Comey's comments were widely quoted, the U.S. press edited out his reference to a possible stint in the big house for Berger.
A Lexis-Nexis search found that only Agence France-Press quoted the Deputy AG in full, including this key observation on the Berger security breach:
"It's our lifeblood to keep secrets," Comey told reporters in Washington. "All felonies in the federal system bring with them the promise of jail time, that's all I can say about that."
Comey left little doubt that Berger's so-called "sloppiness" was more likely a serious crime.
"It is against the law for anyone to intentionally mishandle classified information, either by taking it to give to somebody else, or by mishandling in a way that is outside the regulations of government information."
In case anybody missed the point, the U.S.'s No. 2 lawman added: "The federal system is a very tough system. ... We take issues of classified information very, very seriously."
No wonder venues such as CBS News, which reported Tuesday night that Berger almost certainly would not be charged with criminal wrongdoing, decided not to cover Comey's full comments.
NewsMax: Deputy Attorney General James Comey raised the specter of a jail sentence yesterday for Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger if he's found guilty.
Though Comey's comments were widely quoted, the U.S. press edited out his reference to a possible stint in the big house for Berger.
A Lexis-Nexis search found that only Agence France-Press quoted the Deputy AG in full, including this key observation on the Berger security breach:
"It's our lifeblood to keep secrets," Comey told reporters in Washington. "All felonies in the federal system bring with them the promise of jail time, that's all I can say about that."
Comey left little doubt that Berger's so-called "sloppiness" was more likely a serious crime.
"It is against the law for anyone to intentionally mishandle classified information, either by taking it to give to somebody else, or by mishandling in a way that is outside the regulations of government information."
In case anybody missed the point, the U.S.'s No. 2 lawman added: "The federal system is a very tough system. ... We take issues of classified information very, very seriously."
No wonder venues such as CBS News, which reported Tuesday night that Berger almost certainly would not be charged with criminal wrongdoing, decided not to cover Comey's full comments.
