David Petraeus sentenced to probation for sharing classified information
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Version 0 of 1. David Petraeus, the retired US army general and former CIA director responsible for the development of the hugely influential “counter-insurgency” strategy used in Iraq and Afghanistan, was sentenced on Thursday to two years’ probation and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 for sharing highly classified information with his lover and biographer, Paula Broadwell. The fine was $60,000 more than had been expected under the terms of a plea deal; the two years’ probation was as expected. Outside the courthouse following his sentencing, Petraeus gave a short statement to the press in which he apologised “to those closest to me, and many others, including those with whom I was privileged to serve with in the military”. He also thanked those who have supported him since the scandal broke in 2012. “In particular my family,” he said, “[and] former military colleagues, veterans … and those who I have worked with in the private sector.” Having avoided jail time, he said he was looking forward to moving on with the next phase of his life, “and continuing to serve our great nation as a private citizen”. Petraeus pleaded guilty in March in a federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information. Under the terms of his plea deal, he escaped possible jail time and an embarrassing public trial. He was easily the most influential US military figure of the post-9/11 era. While serving as commanding general of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the US combined arms training center there, Petraeus masterminded an update the army’s field manual on counterinsurgency strategy – usually shortened to COIN. In doing so, he introduced a host of revolutionary ideas into US military operational doctrine – a collection of principles which later became known simply as the “Petraeus doctrine”. Related: Petraeus leaks: Obama's leniency reveals 'profound double standard', lawyer says Later, in Iraq, Petraeus was able to put his ideas into practice in the field, when he was placed in command of multinational forces during the 2007 surge – which he was key in helping to orchestrate. Petraeus also served as commander of US central command, and then commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan before retiring from the army. He retired a four-star general – the highest nominal rank in the US army – and was unanimously confirmed as CIA director in October 2011. But in 2012, personal affairs overtook his career when it emerged that he had been involved in a long-running affair with Paula Broadwell, a married academic and army reserve officer who had been writing a biography of Petraeus, titled All In: The Education of General David Petraeus. The affair was discovered after Jill Kelley, a Florida socialite, was sent threatening messages from an anonymous email account in May. She notified a friend who worked at the FBI, who traced the emails to Broadwell. The affair did not become public until after the presidential election in November, when Petraeus tendered his resignation to the White House. Obama later accepted his offer of resignation. But the saga wasn’t over. After Petraeus resigned, it emerged that Broadwell had been given a set of eight notebooks which contained classified information – including codewords and military strategy – by the general. Initially Petraeus lied to investigators, saying that following his resignation from the CIA he had no classified documents in his possession. However, an FBI search of the general’s house in April 2013 found the notebooks in an unlocked drawer in his study. Petraeus, who currently works for New York investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co as a consultant, pleaded guilty in March to the misdemeanour charge of mishandling classified materials. Other leaks of classified information have led to heavy sentences. Chelsea Manning, who leaked a trove of classified documents to WikiLeaks, was sentenced to 35 years by a military court in August 2013. Stephen Kim, a former State Department official, was sentenced to 13 months in prison the same year after pleading guilty to discussing a classified report with a Fox News reporter in 2009. Manning, Kim and Petraeus were all prosecuted under the same act – Title 18 of the US code, known as the Espionage Act. Lawyers representing Petraeus did not respond to a request for comment. |