The liberal Democrat water carriers are at it again; this time to defend Hillary Clinton.
Remember back in 2004 when it was revealed that Sandy Berger, President Bill Clinton’s national security advisor, had stolen classified documents from the National Archives? It was called “a mistake” and “sloppy.”
Despite Sandy Berger’s theft of classified documents during the Bill Clinton era, Hillary hired him as an advisor during her 2008 campaign. (freerepublic.com)
Theft of Top Secret documents is a Federal crime that is supposed to carry extremely serious penalties, but the water carriers for the Clinton administration claimed “a mistake” in most instances is not a crime, and certainly being “sloppy” isn’t a crime.
Berger had stuffed documents critical of the Clinton administration’s approach to terrorism in his pants and socks and hid them under a construction trailer near the Archives, later to be retrieved. The theft was an attempt to keep the information from the 9/11 Commission and eventually the American public. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was fined just $50,000.
Yesterday, columnist David Ignatius became Hillary’s water carrier, and her e-mail escapade was labeled “careless, not criminal.” While admitting that her use of a private server or an official “state.gov” account is not authorized for transmitting classified information, “prosecution of such violations is extremely rare,” adding that, “Lax security procedures are taken seriously, but generally seen as administrative matters.” (See footnote.*)
Hillary’s handling of classified documents, in Ignatius’ opinion, was “quite different” and did not “fit the pattern” of John Deutch’s unsecured CIA computer in his home, or David Petraeus’ handling of classified documents in unauthorized locations. Deutch received a pardon in 2001, and Petraeus was fined $100,000 and placed on two-year probation.
Ignatius went on to describe how documents are routinely sent for convenience, avoiding formal classification, but asks, “Is there a crime here?,” which he answers, “Almost certainly not.”
I find it interesting how water carriers like Ignatius can make light of the “charges” against Hillary, while a recent WSJ poll revealed that 61 percent do not consider her honest and trustworthy, and the one word that best describes her in an open-ended question was “liar.”
It apparently comes easy for Ignatius. Last month he carried the water for John Kerry and President Obama, calling the deal with Iran, “a well-crafted pact.”
* “Administrative matters” are generally noted and forgotten. Take, for example, the Benghazi Accountability Review Board finding that “the leadership failure in relation to security and policy in Benghazi extended to the highest levels of the State Department, including Secretary Clinton.” And while citing “gross mismanagement,” there was no breach of duty. Time to move on.
