General David Petraeus expected to plead guilty on federal charges

In this June 23, 2011, file photo, CIA Director nominee Gen. David Petraeus testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate Intelligence Committee during a hearing on his nomination. The Justice Department said Tuesday, March 3, 2015, that the former top Army general has agreed to plead guilty to mishandling classified materials. A statement from the agency says a plea agreement has been filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, N.C., the hometown of Paula Broadwell, the general’s biographer and former mistress. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

General David Petraeus is expected to avoid trial by pleading guilty to leaking classified information to his mistress while he was acting director of the C.I.A.

As reported by the New York Times, as part of his plea deal, Petraeus will plead guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison. Petraeus admitted to an affair with Paula Broadwell, a former Army Reserve, who was writing a book about him at the time.

Petraeus was sworn in as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency on September 6, 2011 and resigned from his position a little over a year on November 9, 2012 for what he cites as personal reasons. The affair was first discovered by F.B.I. agents while they were investigating cyberstalking allegations that been made by Jill Kelly, a friend of Petraeus. Kelly told the F.B.I. an anonymous person, later identified to be Broadwell, was sending threatening emails to her which told her to stay away Petraeus.

Even though U.S. prosecutors recommended criminal charges be filed against the former director, he still had the support of many lawmakers.

Having resigned only three days after President Obama was re-elected, the president stated in his first news conference that there was no evidence Petraeus released any information “that in any way would have had a negative impact on our national security.”

“We are safer because of the work that Dave Petraeus has done,” President Obama said, of Patraeus’s career in government. “And my main hope right now is — is that he and his family are able to move on and that this ends up being a single side note on what has otherwise been an extraordinary career.”

Despite the president’s statement, the F.B.I. still felt the disclosure was a significant breach, especially having been committed by the director of the C.I.A. According to CNN, Petraeus is now employed by KKR & Company, a New York private equity firm.

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