Traitor gets 2 years probation for trading classified material for sex

[DetlefK]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/23/david-petraeus-sentenced_n_7129662.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

"Former CIA director David Petraeus was sentenced to 2 years of probation and a $100,000 fine Thursday for sharing classified material with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, during an extramarital affair in 2011."



Okay. This guy revealed classified material, which is treasonous.
And he did it to impress a girl, which means he used the classified material to get sex.
And he gets away with a probation.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Manning got 35 years of jail-time for revealing classified material for moral reasons.

[1939]

1. Dissemination

The difference in sentencing was probably based on the damages caused by the breach. Other than the fact that Petraeus gal pal had access to classified info where she didn't have a "need to know" there was no known release of the info beyond her knowledge of it. What Manning released compromised diplomacy, possible sources, and collection methods.

[stevenleser]

2. The other thing about that is as a reservist officer herself, Broadwell had a

Security clearance, and presumably had signed documents acknowledging she was not to release classified information without authorization. The violation was as you noted, regarding the need to know. That and the non dissemination to a wide audience makes it a very different crime.

I wish folks here would stop trying to push them as equivalent. It doesn't do any credit to those trying to make that connection.