Reply #92: Document production (review)

[JDPriestly]

Has anyone who is judging Berger ever done document review? I have done a lot of it. It is probably an easier and neater process in the Archives than in the situations I have done it. But, believe me, although I have had a lot of experience doing it, have developed habits and procedures for doing it carefully and am meticulous with documents, I confess, I occasionally mess up.

It is confusing to remember whether the document in your hand is a copy or an original. They often look the same. If you take documents that are not numbered out of a box or folder, you may put them back in the wrong order. Some people are incapable of even keeping documents on top of their desk organized.

If Berger had copies in his folder of documents from his home files that looked a little like the documents in the Archives, he could have mixed up the Archives documents with his own and taken the Archives documents home "inadvertently." As I said, I am meticulous with documents, yet, occasionally, I get confused about which document is the original -- especially if I've been working for a long time without breaks, food, etc. It is just the nature of this kind of work, especially if you are working quickly.

Sometimes you start to focus on the content of the documents, rather than the process of handling them. That is when accidents happen. This could be a special problem for Berger who has a reputation for being messy and is probably very focused and prone to be absent-minded.

Let's wait to judge this situation. The accusations may be true, but there is a good chance they aren't, and this is just part of the political game.