Posted by PWalker
The GOP has been in quite an uproar over the recent allegations that Sandy Berger removed classified documents from the National Archives. But we can expect to hear continuing silence from the GOP regarding news that Republican Senator Richard Shelby is under criminal investigation about intelligence leaks.
Even today there is a new article about Berger posted on the GOP website. The article attempts to come up with a justification for Berger’s actions, which boils down to another Clinton conspiracy theory:
[Y]ou know darn well that Sandy Berger wasn’t compelled to pilfer top-secret documents on his own. Bill Clinton put him up to it. Apparently, Clinton and his cronies didn’t want the 9/11 Commission to review that draft report, at least not as originally composed.
Even still, there is no plausible claim of damage caused by Berger. This is not the case with the Shelby leak:
The intercept was from a communications channel the United States had identified as a key communications link for al-Qaida operatives.
“Leaking the exact language would presumably tell the two ends of the conversation not to use that channel again since it had been compromised,” one senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC News.
I actually have respect for Senator Shelby, who has never stuck me as overly partisan, and am not looking for him to be crucified. I am willing to accept a reasonable explanation. Perhaps the Republican Party could adopt the same attitude with regard to Sandy Berger.