Crimes Are Misdemeanors

National Security just isn't what it used to be. I thought that government secrets were supposed to be just that, government secrets, and that violation of the public trust in such instances would have severe consequences. I was wrong. It is merely a misdemeanor. A drunk driving conviction would carry more weight in many states.
Last summer, Sandy Berger called it an "honest mistake" when he unintentionally removed 5 classified documents from the national archives. Apparently, this "honest mistake" is neither. Nor did he misplace, or mistakenly discard of, 3 of the 5 documents. Instead, he shredded them with a pair of scissors in his office. The question that we do not have an answer to is "Why?" Why would a man that once held the highest National Security post in the land deliberately remove and destroy documents? I will not speculate on this, but I cannot think of any legitimate reason.
So, what are the consequences of this betrayal of the national trust? A $10,000 fine and the suspension of his security clearance for 3 years. That's right, THREE YEARS. As Jim Geraghty rightly points out, this is farcical. Three years just happens to to fall within the second term of President George W. Bush. Do you think that the Bush administration was planning on granting Berger any access to sensitive documents? Once that second Clinton administration comes rumbling down the tracks, he will be eligible to once again be privy to the most sensitive of our nation's secrets.
To me, this sounds like another "honest mistake."