David Petraeus, ex-CIA chief, awaits criminal sentencing
Former CIA Director David Petraeus, whose career was destroyed by an extramarital affair with his biographer, is expected to be sentenced by a criminal court for handing classified information to her.
The decision came after he agreed to plead guilty two months ago to a “non-felony account” of unauthorized confiscation and retention of top secret material.
The deal he made with prosecutors allowed the four-star general to avoid an embarrassing trial that would shed light on the details of his affair with Paula Broadwell, his mistress and biographer.
Prosecutors have previously recommended only a 2-year probation period and a fine of $40,000. However, Petraeus can still face up to a year behind bars.
Earlier this year, Petraeus admitted that he gave eight "black books" that contained "Top Secret" and "national defense information" to Broadwell when he was the top commander in Afghanistan, according to the US Justice Department.
Before taking the rein at the Central Intelligence Agency, Petraeus was a widely celebrated military leader who oversaw operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Petraeus is expected to attend the hearing later on Thursday in the eastern state of North Carolina, where his former lover lives with her husband and children.
He is not the first head of the American spy agency to face criminal sentencing.
Richard Helms, CIA director under former president Richard Nixon, was convicted in 1978 of lying to lawmakers about the CIA’s role in removing from power of former Chilean president Salvador Allende.
Helms faced a fine of only $20,000 and probation but served no time in jail, leaving many in the US baffled that he got away with his crimes.
HDS/HRJ
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