I work with documents up to SCI, which is generally considered one level below code word*. In by security indoc briefing, I was told in no uncertain terms the criminal penalties for mishandling those documents (up to and including the death penalty).

Why in the world would anyone give a damn about the timing of the freaking "leak"**? What matters first and foremost is what was in those documents that Berger has admitted losing. The only question I have about the timing is why was this story kept quiet for so long? For us "little people" out here who have to play by the rules, we would've been in jail long ago. What Berger admitted to doing is extremely serious, screw the leak timing. If "equal justice under the law" has any meaning, he should be facing severe criminal charges.

*It's all kind of convoluted when you compare different security classifications. Generally, it goes Unclassified, Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. There's another category called Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). Above that, there's Special Access Program (SAP). Codeword is a special limiter to a well defined need to know. It is generally considered the most restrictive of all security classifications.

**Notice how when someone releases something that goes against a Democrat, it's a leak. When it goes against a Republican, they're a "whistleblower".