Report: Gonzales mishandled documents

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales mishandled classified documents, according to a report released Tuesday by the Office of the Inspector General.

Glenn Fine, inspector general of the U.S. Justice Department, released a report Tuesday detailing the findings of an investigation into allegations that Gonzales, while serving as attorney general, took notes taken from a meeting concerning the National Security Agency surveillance program, classified as top secret, to his home.

The Office of the Inspector General also investigated allegations of that Gonzales mishandled another 17 top secret documents, the Justice Department reported.

The Office of the Inspector General report confirmed Gonzales' mishandling of classified national security information despite Gonzales not remembering whether the action took place. "Notwithstanding Gonzales's vague recollection about his handling of the notes, the evidence showed that he did, in fact, take the classified notes home," the release said.

The report also said that Gonzales did not keep the classified notes in a safe at his home and that additional top secret documents were not properly maintained in a top secret-sensitive compartmented information safe even while at the Department of Justice.

The Justice Department's National Security Division was provided the Office of the Inspector General report for review but has declined prosecute. The report has also been sent to the Justice Department's Security and Emergency Planning Staff and to the NSA.