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Report: Gonzales mishandled counterterror secrets
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-03 10:10 In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Conyers said he was "shocked" by the report's findings that he said only adds "to an already troubling record of the Justice Department under this administration and under Mr. Gonzales." "The department ought to explain clearly why it declined to pursue charges against Mr. Gonzales and what actions it intends to take in response to the report," Conyers said. Three years ago, former national security adviser Sandy Berger pleaded guilty to removing classified documents from the National Archives and hiding them under a construction trailer. He was fined $50,000 and ordered to perform community service. He was barred from viewing classified material. Berger, who said he took the documents to help prepare for testifying about the Sept. 11 terror attacks, told a federal judge that he "let considerations of personal convenience override clear rules of handling classified material." Berger, who served under President Bill Clinton, later surrendered his law license. At issue for Gonzales is how and where he stored the sensitive compartmentalized information, or SCI, which is among the most sensitive levels of classified top secret documents and usually concern national security cases. They are supposed to be stored only in special safes or facilities that can be accessed only by certain people with SCI security clearances. At the Justice Department, however, Gonzales kept the documents in a safe in a fifth-floor office in the attorney general's suite -- which is not considered an SCI facility. In 2006, investigators found, the safe was searched by two employees who did not have SCI clearances but who looked through it "document by document" for papers requested through the Freedom of Information Act. The report also found that Gonzales took some SCI documents -- specifically, notes about the surveillance program -- to his house in suburban Virginia when he was moving from his secure counsel's office at the White House in early 2005 to the Justice Department. Although he initially said he believed he kept the documents in a safe at his home, Gonzales later told investigators he did not know the combination of the safe. He said he may have kept the papers in his briefcase and did not always lock it. In a response to the report, Gonzales' lawyers indicated the former attorney general was merely forgetful or unaware of the proper way to handle the top secret papers. "Judge Gonzales regrets this lapse," concluded the lawyers' response, written by Gonzales attorney George Terwilliger. However, Tuesday's report showed Gonzales was briefed on how to properly handle SCI material both while at the White House and at the Justice Department. As a result of the security breach, Gonzales could lose any remaining security clearances he may still have. Fine's investigators alerted the NSA and the Justice Department's internal security officials to alert them that the top secret information may have been compromised. |
