Can somebody explain to me what the Sandy Berger brou-ha-ha was about?

I never understood why he took those papers and what were the final ramifications; but, I do know that a right-wing friend keeps bringing him up to "counter-balance" the entire Republican Party's effort at secrecy.

write up on wikipedia. He did something wrong but he took his punishment like a man. Bottom line.

What exactly was he trying to bury? The article states that he stole a copy or copies of the same document. The originals or the copy of the document was still on a harddrive and available. The document pertained to the Clinton Administration's anti-terrorist strategy PRIOR to the Millenium bombing, which was successfully thwarted. And it was unlikely that Berger destroyed or removed any documents on subsequent visits to the archives because he was under constant surveillance.

No clue to what, exactly, was on those documents, leaving people like Rush Limbaugh with a chance to exaggerate and claim that he could have destroyed originals on other visits.

and is hardly a counter balance to anything. He was preparing to testify before the 9/11 commission. He could review the documents but not take notes with him. He had access only to copies. He had copies in the pockets of his jacket and pants, and some in his briefcase (and none, you will note, in his socks). He destroyed some copies by cutting them up with scissors. The others were returned.

Yes, he broke the law. He fessed up and faced the consequences.

The documents in question concerned the foiled 2000 millennium plot and probably should never have been classified safe for the passion of the current administration to keep the previous administration's emphasis on fighting terror secret.

took something from the NARA. And they thought it was something to do with bush and the republicans. Because remember right after that they sent clerks to the Archives to remove papers. And 2/3 of those papers, even tho they were ruled not classified have never been seen again.