Former CIA Chief to be Sentenced in Leak Case

Local Editor

Former US military commander and CIA director David Petraeus would appear in federal court in North Carolina to face sentencing for allegedly leaking secrets.

Petraeus, a now-retired US Army General, had already agreed to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material.

As part of the agreement with prosecutors filed in March, the government would not seek any prison time. Instead, Petraeus would agree to pay a $40,000 fine and receive two years of probation, according to court documents.

The recommendations were not binding on the federal judge who would preside at the hearing Thursday afternoon in Charlotte.

Petraeus, who served stints as the top US commander in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned from the CIA in 2012.

A court document signed by Petraeus and prosecutors said that in 2011, before he became the CIA director, the four-star general illegally gave Broadwell access to binders, known as "black books," that included classified information.

Further, he also was accused of improperly storing classified materials at his residence and falsely telling the FBI in October 2012 that he had not shared any classified information with Broadwell.

However, Petraeus' lawyer, David Kendall, had no comment ahead of the plea and sentencing hearing.

Nonetheless, civil liberties and government transparency advocates said the government's lenient treatment of Petraeus suggested prosecutors maintain double standards.

Other leak case defendants had received harsher punishments, such as former CIA officer John Kiriakou, who was sent to prison.

Ben Wizner, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who represented former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, said he was not against lighter sentences for people involved in leaking, so long as such treatment was handed out equally.

"The problem is not that David Petraeus is getting lenient treatment," Wizner said. "The problem is that lenient treatment is only available to people in high places."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team