State Department

Was It a Security Breach Or a Chevy Chase Movie?

Feb. 28 was definitely a bad day for JOHN ARBOGAST, a State Department lawyer who specializes in U.N. affairs. Running late, he stuffed a bunch of papers into one of his three bags and hurried to his car. Then he drove off, leaving the bags on the car roof, with predictable results. RONALD T. NELSON, a passing motorist, found Arbogast's briefcase, which held personal items. But Nelson tells TIME that when he returned it, Arbogast said that papers in the other two bags were "sensitive" and "important" and that some pertained to the crisis in Iraq. According to investigators, one bag...

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