Josh Gerstein covers some of the incredible details in the National Archives Inspector General's report on Sandy Berger's theft and destruction of classified documents from the National Archives in this New York Sun story. Regarding Berger's hiding of the documents underneath a construction trailer oustide the National Archives, Gerstein quotes Steven Aftergood:

A leading authority on classification policy, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, said Mr. Berger's behavior was reminiscent of a "dead drop," when spies leave records in a park or under a mailbox to be retrieved by a handler.

"It seems deliberate and calculated," Mr. Aftergood said. "It's impossible to maintain the pretense that this was an act of absentmindedness."

The New York Times uses a wire service story to cover the report. Its own reporters were apparently otherwise engaged. The AP report on the Times site includes a detail of which I wasn't aware:

In October 2003, the report said, an Archives official called Berger to discuss missing documents from his visit two days earlier. The investigator's notes said, "Mr. Berger panicked because he realized he was caught."

The notes said that Berger had "destroyed, cut into small pieces, three of the four documents. These were put in the trash."

After the trash had been picked up, Berger "tried to find the trash collector but had no luck," the notes said.

Jay Nordlinger comments in his NRO Impromptus column:

Call me a right-wing paranoid — it’s been done before! — but I think that, if Sandy Berger were a conservative Republican, the story of his misdeeds would be a really, really big deal. Do you know about his misdeeds? You may read about them here. I’ll give you just a taste:

In October 2003, the [inspector general’s] report said, an Archives official called Berger to discuss missing documents from his visit two days earlier. The investigator’s notes said, “Mr. Berger panicked because he realized he was caught.”

The notes said that Berger had “destroyed, cut into small pieces, three of the four documents. These were put in the trash.”

As I said, that’s just a taste.

If Berger were a Republican, the word “Nixonian” would be making a big, big comeback — at a minimum.

Remember how President Clinton and his people reacted shortly after the first news about Berger and the Archives came out? Oh, that’s just Sandy, ha, ha, ha — didn’t surprise any of us, when we heard about it. You should have seen his desk at the White House! Sloppy Sandy — ethical as the day is long, though.

Yeah, what a crock.

It could be that Berger performed a real service in stealing and deep-sixing documents — that is, a service to the Clinton administration...Berger’s lawyer — remember Lanny Breuer, of Lewinsky fame? — says that there is no need to fret: The 9/11 Commission received all the documents it should have; Berger deprived the commission, and therefore the nation, of nothing.

Tom Davis, the Republican congressman — and chairman of the House Government Reform Committee — isn’t so sure. “There is absolutely no way to determine if Berger swiped [certain] original documents. Consequently, there is no way to ever know if the 9/11 Commission received all required materials.”

Berger got off pretty lightly: $50,000 fine, 100 hours of community service, no access to classified documents for three years. Whoop-de-doo.

It seems we will never know whether he destroyed revealing documents. From the look of it, he was trying to avoid embarrassment to himself and the Clinton administration, at the expense of the public’s right to know. To know what? How our government treated al Qaeda before 9/11. In any event, Berger did an awfully lousy thing.

As would be clear to one and all, in every village and hamlet of this country — if only he were a “neocon” from Texas. (Preferably evangelical!)

Mark Levin provides background on the release of the report here. I don't think we've quite gotten to the bottom of the Case of the Purloined Documents, and it looks like we never will.

To discuss this story, go here.

UPDATE: A telling comment by DonQ at the Forum:

An interesting contrast: Tony Snow recently was grilled agressively and repeatedly because the first lady had an innocuous medical procedure performed, and she didn’t launch a media blitz about it. On the other hand, Sandy Berger uses his national security clearance to steal sensitive classfied documents (by stuffing them in his pants no less!) and destroy them, immediately prior to his meeting with the 9/11 commission to explain Clinton administration policies prior to an act of war that killed 3000 Americans....MSM yawns and looks the other way.

Outrageous. Incredible. Typical.