Petraeus pleads guilty to sharing secrets

David Petraeus, former CIA director and US military commander agreed to plead guilty to accusations that he shared classified material with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, who he had an affair with. The plea agreement represented a blow to the career of the 62-year-old, who was once hailed as a war hero for leading American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Petraeus agreed to plead guilty to unauthorized removal and retention of classified material in his plea agreement, which was filed in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Broadwell lives with her husband and children.

Prosecutors recommended two years of probation and a fine of $40,000 (36,000 euros) in the plea deal, which would allow Petraeus to avoid a trial. The court had not yet set any date for the former CIA director to enter the agreement.

State lawyers accused Petraeus of giving Paula Broadwell eight binders of classified material he had improperly kept during his time as the top military commander in Afghanistan. The files contained names of covert operatives, the coalition war strategy and notes about Petraeus' discussions with President Barack Obama and the National Security Council.

Broadwell's biography of Petraeus, called "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus" came out in 2012. Later that year, the former US army chief agreed to having an affair with Broadwell and resigned from the CIA after barely one year in office.

In 2007, President George W. Bush appointed David Petraeus to command multinational forces in Iraq, where he oversaw the troop "surge." He was later made the top US commander in Afghanistan until President Obama appointed him as Director of CIA in 2010.

mg/kms (AP,AFP)