Sandy Berger was National Security Advisor for former President Bill Clinton from 1997-2001. As such, he was privileged to classified documents involving terrorist threats to the United States.
When the 9/11 bombing took place, the Senate took steps to determine who was to blame for the successful attack by the Al Qaeda. As part of the efforts to bring light to this matter, a 9/11 commission was formed.

In the course of its investigations, the 9/11 commission called on former president Bill Clinton and his administration’s national security advisor Sandy Berger to give light to the Clinton administration’s actions when they received intelligence reports about the so-called millennium attack plots, allegedly involving terrorist bombing attempts in Jordan, in Los Angeles International Airport, and the USS The Sullivans. All three plans failed but these plots confirmed Al Qaeda’s determination to attack the United States.

The Archive Officials

Sandy Berger was authorized by the former president Bill Clinton to look over his administration’s after-action reports and notes regarding the millennium terrorist plots. This is legal and straightforward for even if he was no longer National Security Advisor, the classified documents in the National Archives pertaining to Bill Clinton’s administration can be read and reviewed by the former president or by his designated representative. Sandy Berger was Bill Clinton’s “designated representative.”

What wasn’t so aboveboard, however, was Sandy Berger’s unauthorized removal of classified documents from the National Archives. In September of 2003, Berger made a visit to the National Archives apparently to prepare for their ordeal with the 9/11 commission. When he left the National Archives, the Archives officials believed that he took what he read with him.

In October of the same year, Sandy Berger returned to the National Archives. Unbeknownst to him, he was being keenly observed by the National Archives employees. He also didn’t know that the classified documents he was poring over were coded especially for easier tracking in case these got lost, too. True enough, some of the sensitive documents went missing after Berger’s visit.

On October 4, Archive officials contacted Sandy Berger to tell him about the missing documents. Sandy Berger looked in his attaché case and found the missing documents in with his other papers. He told the officials that it was an honest mistake in his part, that he never intentionally took the classified materials from the Archive. Of course, he did not know then that some other materials were missing from the said records library.

Sandy Berger also admitted to the National Archives officials that he had also made copious notes in his visits to the National Archives. This was also prohibited under the rules. It is stipulated that notes made during visits should be presented to Archive employees’ review to ensure that no sensitive information got out of the Archives.

The FBI

At this time, it was determined that Sandy Berger must have taken more documents because not everything had been returned. The FBI was brought in on October and by January, a full criminal investigation was instigated. The matter culminated in a fine of $50,000 and Sandy Berger’s loss of security clearance for three years.