WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- House Republicans have said they will investigate Clinton-era national security adviser Sandy Berger's mishandling of classified papers.
Although the Department of Justice is already examining the matter, House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis said the panel has "a constitutional responsibility" to find out why and what happened regarding the former administration official's handling of information related to anti-terrorism matters.
Berger has admitted to inadvertently taking copies of highly classified memos from the National Archives critiquing the Clinton administration's reaction to the threat of a terrorist attack on New Year's Eve 1999.
As he was reviewing the materials for the Sept. 11 commission, Berger also admits to leaving the archive with his own notes about the classified documents he viewed, a violation of archival rules.
Democrats have questioned the timing of leak of the DOJ's criminal investigation into the matter as the White House has acknowledged it was notified about the inquiry months ago.
But the story was just recently leaked and reported this week, just days prior to Thursday's release of the final commission report.
