Judge Sentences David Petraeus to 75% of One Speaking Fee
By Marcy Wheeler
April 23, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" - "ExposeFacts"
- Former CIA Director David Petraeus just got sentenced to two years of
probation for leaking highly sensitive information to his mistress and then
lying to the FBI about it.Petraeus had asked to enter
the court room via a backdoor, so he would not be photographed, but he was
forced to enter the courthouse in the normal fashion.
As happens with big-wigs, Petraeus’ lawyer cited the 34
letters of support from other big-wigs sent on his behalf. Petraeus admitted his
crimes and apologized to those he hurt.
The only “surprise” of the hearing is that, rather than
getting slapped with a $40,000 fine, Judge David Keesler more than doubled the
fine to send a message.
To $100,000.
According to
SpeakerPedia,
Petraeus makes upwards of $132,750 for each speech.
In other words, this fine, meant to be especially harsh so as
to send a message about the gravity of Petraeus’ crimes, is about 75% of one
speaker’s fee for Petraeus.
Investigative journalist Marcy Wheeler writes the "Right to
Know" column for ExposeFacts. She is best known for providing in-depth analysis
of legal documents related to "war on terrorism" programs and civil liberties.
Wheeler blogs at emptywheel.net and publishes at outlets including the Guardian,
Salon and the Progressive. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit: How the Bush
Administration Used the Media to Sell the Iraq War and Out a Spy. Wheeler won
the 2009 Hillman Award for blog journalism.
