1988 - David Fleming, Navy Chief Petty Officer, Chief photographer aboard the submarine La Jolla, was convicted for the theft of 16 Secret photographs and four classified training manuals found in his apartment. "Fleming contended that cramped quarters aboard the ship led him to develop photographs at home. Concluding that he knew that the materials, if kept at home, could result in damage to national security, the court convicted Fleming under statutes which apply to acts of espionage. However, no evidence was presented to the court that the Chief Petty Officer had intended to provide classified materials to representatives of another country." He was sentenced to four years confinement and given a bad conduct discharge from the Navy; he served about 1 1/2 years.

Note the differences. CPO Fleming was not suspected of even intending to do anything wrong with the TS documents in question apart from the security breach itself and got charged with Espionage. Berger admitted not only taking the documents but destroying them and got to cop a plea for a misdemeanor.

You are absolutely correct, an unconnected individual would be facing a trial or plea that guaranteed serious time in a P.Y.I.T.A. Federal prison. Instead, Berger walks.

Has anyone actually taken a moment to look up a person from Westlaw convicted of the same offense? Might be nice to compare and contrast how the mighty are treated versus the rest of us.