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David Petraeus Gets Hand-Slap for Leaking, Two Point Enhancement for Obstruction of Justice

#1

David Petraeus Gets Hand-Slap for Leaking, Two Point Enhancement for Obstruction of Justice

Marcy Wheeler

As a supine Congress sitting inside a scaffolded dome applauded Benjamin Netanyahu calling to reject a peace deal with Iran, DOJ quietly announced it had reached a plea deal with former CIA Director David Petraeus for leaking Top Secret/Secure Compartmented Information materials to his mistress, Paula Broadwell.

Among the materials in the eight “Black Books” Petraeus shared with Broadwell were:

#2

Well, there you have it America; if you don't know what time it is by now, you never will. Many years ago the US Army offered me a free ride to West Point Military Academy. Just think, being of the same generation as Betrayus, I could have been one of those bloodthirsty ghouls frying innocent people, mishandling secret information, and giving those secrets to a modern-day Mata Hari for some afternoon delight. Gotta love that just-f#%&$d look on their faces.

O Fortuna,
velut luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis
aut decresis;
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat
et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem,
egestatem,
potestatum
dissolvit glaciem.

(O Fortune,
variable
as the moon,
always dost thou
wax and wane.
Detestable life,
first thou dost mistreat us,
and then, whimsically,
thou headest our desires.
As the sun melts the ice,
so dost thou dissolve
both poverty and power.)

Now that fortune has crushed him on the wheel and Mata Hari completed her task, I wonder if the poor general wails:

Manda liet,
manda liet,
min gazelle
chumet niet.

#3

Black is white, up is down, war is peace. Can it get more insane than this?

#4

This guy gets a slap on the wrist and Edward Snowden sits in exile in Russia branded with treason. Crazy.

#5

I can understand how someone who has performed a major service to his country should be shown some leniency, but the Petraeus deal is obviously a case of special rules for the powerful, while lesser folks get hit with draconian penalties. After WWII, for example, DeGaulle opposed calls to execute Vichy leader General Petain, who had been a hero of the First World War. The old general, however, did serve a prison term and was disgraced. Petraeus simply walks away from his crimes and makes millions selling his influence to companies doing business in the very places where he gained his influence as a general, such as Kazakhstan.

Another takeaway from the Petraeus case is that the well-connected are entitled to lie to the FBI with impunity. Good to know for some people.