The only motive I can imagine that would lead Berger to take the immense risk of stealing classified documents out of the National Archives is that they contain information that is extremely damaging to him and to the Clinton administration. While the timing is not entirely clear from press accounts, it appears that Berger purloined the documents last year. I haven't been able to pin down the exact timing of the Sept. 11 Commission's investigation, but it seems reasonable to conclude that Berger wanted to get the documents in question out of the Archives before the Commission discovered them. This would make sense only if they were extremely damaging not only to the Clinton administration, but to Berger personally. Of course, given Berger's role as National Security Advisor, any serious default in the Clinton administration's response to terrorist threats would have reflected badly on him. The millenium bomber is an obvious example, but the documents may have related to Clinton's decision not to capture Osama bin Laden, or many other matters.

This matter will drop, as the mainstream press will prefer not to pursue it. Berger's effort to frustrate the historical record will, I suspect, be successful. But he will pay a price: he will never be Secretary of State.