Petraeus gets probation in leak case
Former CIA Director David Petraeus, whose career was destroyed by an affair with his biographer, gets two years’ probation and a $100,000 fine for giving her classified material.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former CIA Director David Petraeus, whose career was destroyed by an extramarital affair with his biographer, was sentenced Thursday to two years’ probation and fined $100,000 for giving her classified material while she was working on the book.
The sentencing came two months after he agreed to plead guilty to a federal misdemeanor count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material.
The plea agreement carried a possible sentence of up to a year in prison. In court papers, prosecutors recommended two years’ probation and a $40,000 fine. But Judge David Keesler increased the fine to “reflect seriousness of the offense.” He said Petraeus committed a “grave and uncharacteristic error in judgment.”
Appearing calm, Petraeus made a brief statement before he was sentenced, apologizing “for the pain my actions have caused.”
Petraeus attorney Jake Sussman said this was not a case about the public dissemination of classified information, but the wrongful removal of materials.
But prosecutor James Melendres said, “This is a serious criminal offense. He was entrusted with the nation’s most classified secrets. The defendant betrayed that trust.” Melendres says Petraeus compounded that trust by lying to the FBI.
In a brief statement after the hearing, Petraeus said this marks the end of a two-and-a-half year ordeal, and he just wants to move on.
“I now look forward to moving on to the next phase of my life,” he said, before walking to a waiting car and leaving.
Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney who regularly represents government employees and military members in national security cases, said Petraeus’ punishment was lighter than what others in similar cases have received.
“There’s a double standard,” he said.
Zaid said he believes the government struck a deal to avoid trying such a highprofile former government official.
The prospect of probation for Petraeus had been raised as an issue in an unrelated case by supporters of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer convicted of giving a New York Times reporter classified details of an operation to derail Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia have urged a stiff sentence for Sterling, and probation officers have calculated a sentencing guidelines range of 20 to 24 years.
Supporters argued that Sterling’s expected sentence would be out of line with the Petraeus deal.