Former CIA director and retired general David H. Petraeus speaks as the keynote speaker at the University of Southern California annual dinner for veterans and ROTC students, in Los Angeles, California March 26, 2013. He's free to do a lot more of this now.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and eight news media organizations have formed a coalition to demand that a federal court in North Carolina unseal a sentencing memorandum and related letters in the case of David Petraeus. The retired General and former CIA Director recently pleaded guilty to mishandling classified materials, which were made available to his civilian lover and biographer, Paula Broadwell.
Joining the Reporters Committee in the motion are The Associated Press; Bloomberg L.P.; The Charlotte Observer Publishing Company; Dow Jones & Company, Inc.; First Look Media, Inc.; National Public Radio, Inc.; The New York Times Company; and The Washington Post.
The news groups noted that while the sentencing proceeding was open to the public, a memorandum Petraeus filed and letters submitted to the court regarding his sentencing are sealed. The media coalition is asking the court to immediately unseal those documents.
"Because Petraeus served as a high-ranking government official, and pleaded guilty to a charge involving the mishandling of classified information, the public has an especially strong interest in obtaining a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding his prosecution, guilty plea, and sentence. Indeed, the prosecution and outcome of Petraeus's case has garnered significant attention from the press and the public," the media coalition argued. "Moreover, in other, similar prosecutions of defendants who have pleaded guilty to charges relating to alleged leaks of classified information, the sentencing memoranda are public."
Petraeus pleaded guilty in federal court to mishandling classified materials. He had reportedly given the materials to his biographer, with whom he was also having an affair, and subsequently lied to law enforcement officials about his actions. Petraeus was sentenced to two years' probation and a $100,000 fine. His sentence was questioned by attorneys for other government leakers, whose clients received much harsher penalties for similar offenses.
Here's the announcement on the rcfp.org.
Read the coalition's request here. [PDF]
Former CIA director David Petraeus. (Reuters / Chris Keane)
