May 18, 2007

You remember Sandy Berger. He was the Clinton Administration’s national security adviser. But he has become more famous – or, infamous – for his theft of highly classified documents from the national archives. Berger has agreed to forfeit his law license, just like his boss who lied under oath. Berger has already been fined $50,000 and sentenced to 100 hours of community service. But by agreeing to give up his law license, he avoids having to take a polygraph test during which he would have been asked for more specific details of his theft.

Seventeen republican congressmen sent a terse letter to the justice department saying Berger had been given a “free pass” in its investigation. Virginia Congressman Tom Davis urged the Justice Department to administer the polygraph test. How will we know if Berger did not take other documents and, if so, what were they? Was he trying to protect the Clintons from more revelations that might hurt Hillary’s chances of becoming president?

The Clintons are slippery, but why is this Justice Department helping them by providing more grease?

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.