| Samuel Richard Berger | |
|---|---|
| 19th United States National Security Advisor | |
| In office 1997–2001 |
|
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Anthony Lake |
| Succeeded by | Condoleezza Rice |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 28, 1945 Millerton, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Berger |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Foreign Policy Advisor, Campaign Advisor, Lobbying |
Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (born October 28, 1945) was United States National Security Advisor, under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. In his position, he helped to formulate the foreign policy of the Clinton Administration. During this time he advised the President regarding the Khobar Towers bombing, Operation Desert Fox, the NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, responses to the terrorist bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the administration's policy of engagement with the People's Republic of China.[1] He was also one of the prominent actors of the Camp David 2000 Summit.
Before joining the administration, Berger had worked as an international trade attorney; currently, he is chairman of an international advisory firm and chairman of the board of an international investment fund. He lives in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., is married to Susan Berger and has three children (one son and two daughters).
In April 2005, Berger pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material from the National Archives in Washington. According to the lead prosecutor in the case Berger only took copies of classified information and no original material was destroyed.
Berger served as a foreign policy adviser to Senator Hillary Clinton in her 2008 presidential campaign.[2]
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Originally from Millerton, New York where his parents ran an Army-Navy store (and born in nearby Sharon, Connecticut), Berger graduated from Webutuck High School in 1963, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1967 [3][4] and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1971. At Cornell, Berger was a member of the Quill and Dagger society with Paul Wolfowitz and Stephen Hadley. Opposed to the Vietnam War, Berger began working for Senator George McGovern's presidential campaign in 1972. While there, he met Bill Clinton, forming a friendship that would last for decades. Berger later urged Clinton to run for president.[5]
After the McGovern campaign, Berger gained experience working in a variety of government posts, including serving as Special Assistant to former New York City Mayor John Lindsay and Legislative Assistant to former U.S. Senator Harold Hughes of Iowa and Congressman Joseph Resnick of New York. He was also Deputy Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department from 1977 to 1980 under Secretary of State Cyrus Vance during the Carter administration.[6]
After leaving the State Department, Berger went on to join the law firm Hogan & Hartson where he helped expand the firm's international law practice. As a partner, he opened the firm's first two international offices, in London and Brussels.[5] "Sandy Berger," Nancy Pelosi said in 1997, "was the point-man at... Hogan & Hartson... for the trade office of the Chinese government. He was a lawyer-lobbyist."[7]
Berger served as Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Governor Clinton during the campaign, and as Assistant Transition Director for National Security of the 1992 Clinton-Gore Transition. During Clinton's first term of office (1993–1997), Berger served as deputy national security advisor, under Anthony Lake in the National Security Council. In Clinton's second term of office, Berger succeeded Lake as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from 1997 to 2001.
After leaving the Clinton administration, Berger became chairman of Stonebridge International, an international advisory firm he co-founded in 2001 which focuses on aiding companies in their expansion into markets such as Brazil, China, India, and Russia.[6] Berger is also Chairman of the DB Zwirn Global Advisory Board, an international investment fund and merchant capital provider founded in 2001 and with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia.[8] Berger is an Advisory Board member for the Partnership for a Secure America, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy. He also serves on the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Doha Center.
In late 2003, Berger was called to testify before the 9/11 Commission regarding steps taken against terrorism during his tenure and the information he provided to his successor, Condoleezza Rice. At the time, Berger was also acting as an informal foreign policy advisor to Senator John Kerry during his campaign for the presidency. He quit his advisory role after controversy arose regarding his preparations for testifying before the September 11 committee.[9]
Berger currently serves on the Advisory Board of the National Security Network, and he is Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group.
In November 1997, Berger paid a $23,000 civil penalty to settle conflict of interest allegations stemming from his failure to sell his stock of Amoco Corporation as ordered by the White House. Berger was advised by the White House to sell the stock in early 1994. Berger said he had planned to sell the stock, but then forgot. He denied knowingly participating in decisions in which he had a financial interest. With no evidence that Berger intended to break the law, the U.S. Justice Department determined a civil penalty was adequate for a "non-willful violation" of the conflict of interest law.[10]
In 1999, Berger was criticized for failing to promptly inform President Clinton of his knowledge that the People's Republic of China had managed to acquire the designs of a number of U.S. nuclear warheads. Berger was originally briefed of the espionage by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) in April 1996, but did not inform the president until July 1997.[11][12]
A number of Republicans, including then presidential hopeful Lamar Alexander, called for Berger's resignation. They accused him of ignoring the allegations of Chinese espionage. "For his unwillingness to act on this serious matter, Mr. Berger should resign", Alexander said. "If he does not, he should be relieved of his duties by President Clinton."[13] President Clinton rejected the calls: "The record is that we acted aggressively," Clinton said. "Mr. Berger acted appropriately."[14]
| “ | I asked DOE to widen and deepen its investigation, to intensify as they were planning their counterintelligence efforts to brief the Congress[.] [W]ithin several weeks the FBI had opened up a full investigation on the prime suspect. So I took the actions that I believe were appropriate. I get an awful lot of threat information every day. I have to make a judgment as to what I brief the president on and what I don't. In 1997, when this was clearly a pattern and a systemic problem, I thought it was essential for the president to know — Sandy Berger, May 29, 1999.[15] | ” |
On July 19, 2004, it was revealed that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating Berger for unauthorized removal of classified documents in October 2003 from a National Archives reading room prior to testifying before the 9/11 Commission. The documents were five classified copies of a single report commissioned from Richard Clarke, covering internal assessments of the Clinton administration's handling of the unsuccessful 2000 millennium attack plots. An associate of Berger said Berger took one copy in September 2003 and four copies in October 2003.[16]
After a long investigation, Justice Department prosecutors determined that Berger only removed classified copies of data stored on hard drives stored in the National Archives, and that no original material was destroyed.[17] Berger eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material on April 1, 2005. Berger was fined $50,000,[18] sentenced to serve two years of probation and 100 hours of community service, and stripped of his security clearance for 3 years.[19] The Justice Department initially said Berger stole only copies of classified documents and not originals. But the House Government Reform Committee later revealed that an unsupervised Berger had been given access to classified files of original, uncopied, uninventoried documents on terrorism. Several Archives officials acknowledged that Berger could have stolen any number of items and they "would never know what, if any, original documents were missing."[20]
On December 20, 2006, Inspector General Paul Brachfeld reported that Berger took a break to go outside without an escort. "In total, during this visit, he removed four documents ... Mr. Berger said he placed the documents under a trailer in an accessible construction area outside Archives 1 (the main Archives building)." Berger acknowledged that he later retrieved the documents from the construction area and returned with them to his office.[21][22]
On May 17, 2007, Berger relinquished his license to practice law as a result of the Justice Department investigation. Saying, "I have decided to voluntarily relinquish my license." He added that, "While I derived great satisfaction from years of practicing law, I have not done so for 15 years and do not envision returning to the profession. I am very sorry for what I did, and I deeply apologize." By giving up his license, Berger avoided cross-examinination by the Bar Counsel regarding details of his thefts.[23]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by Jonathan Howe |
Deputy National Security Advisor 1993–1997 |
Succeeded by James Steinberg |
| Preceded by Anthony Lake |
United States National Security Advisor 1997–2001 |
Succeeded by Condoleezza Rice |
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