WASHINGTON, July 20 (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton's national security advisor Sandy Berger was in a firestorm Tuesday amid revelations he took highly classified documents from government archives prior to testifying to a September 11 commission.
Revelations that Berger, 58, allegedly stuffed handwritten notes into his clothing after examining classified documents in a secure room at the National Archives drew a reminder from the Justice Department about the handling of such sensitive information.
"It is against the law for anyone to intentionally mishandle classified information, either by taking it to give to somebody else, or by mishandling in a way that is outside the regulations of government information," Deputy Attorney General James Comey told reporters during a press conference at the Justice Department.
Comey declined to comment on Berger's actions, but said "we take issues of classified information very, very seriously."
"It's our lifeblood to keep secrets. All felonies in the federal system bring with them the promise of jail time, that's all I can say about that. The federal system is a very tough system," Comey stressed.
In a statement issued late Monday, Berger said he returned all his handwritten notes and some classified documents he had found in his office, but that he could not find two or three copies of an intelligence report surrounding terrorist plots to disrupt Millennium celebrations in 1999.
He said he believes he may have accidentally discarded the documents.
"I deeply regret the sloppiness involved but had no intention of withholding documents from the Commission," Berger said.
USA Today reported Tuesday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had searched Berger's home and office, but some of the documents he had reviewed were still missing.
One of Berger's lawyers told the newspaper the former White House official thought he was looking at copies of the documents at the National Archives, adding that he also knew that taking handwritten notes out of the room was a violation of procedures.
Aside from security concerns, Republican lawmakers might be smelling political blood as Berger serves as a key advisor to Democratic White House hopeful Senator John Kerry.
"What information could be so embarrassing that a man with decades of experience in handling classified documents would risk being caught pilfering our nation's most sensitive secrets?" House Speaker Dennis Hastert asked.
"Did these documents detail simple negligence or did they contain something more sinister? Was this a bungled attempt to rewrite history and keep critical information from the 9/11 commission and potentially put their report under a cloud?" Hastert asked in a statement.
Republican Senator Trent Lott also professed concern over the matter.
"The fact that maybe some of it was thrown away inadvertently, you know, the image is not good," Lott told Fox news television.
Fellow Democrats, however, said it was too early to jump to conclusions on whether the former national security advisor acted inadvertently or deliberately.
"He's a very patriotic American. I have to assume that what Sandy says is right that any removal of documents was inadvertent," Senator Joseph Lieberman told Fox news.
Tom Daschle, the Senate Minority Leader, added: "He's cooperating. But I do think the timing is very curious, given this has been underway now for this long. Somebody leaked it, obviously with an intent, I think, to do damage to Mr. Berger and I think that's unfortunate."
Berger was reportedly seen hiding the notes in his clothing before his March 24 testimony before the September 11 commission, which is probing the 2001 attacks against the United States.
Interest in Berger's actions have been heightened because the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks is due to release a final report on how Clinton and current US President George W. Bush handled intelligence reports on terrorism before the September 11 attacks on Thursday.