Former CIA director David Petraeus has reached a plea deal with the US Department of Justice in which he will admit to mishandling classified materials.
It ends a long investigation into whether he provided secret information to his mistress Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus resigned from his post at the CIA in 2012, after it emerged he was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
A DoJ statement said a plea agreement had been filed.
The deal means that David Petraeus will plead guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, but could avoid an embarrassing trial.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, the New York Times reported.
Photo AP
The retired four-star general was in charge of America’s recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was once considered a contender for the Republican presidential ticket.
David Petraeus had an affair with Paula Broadwell in 2011 during which time she was interviewing him for a biography she was writing.
Three days after the 2012 general election, David Petraeus resigned as the director of the CIA and admitted to the affair but at the time he denied any criminal wrongdoing.
The FBI discovered the affair during a cyberstalking investigation following allegations made by one of the former general’s friends, Jill Kelley.
They determined that Paula Broadwell had been sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, and during the investigation they discovered evidence that suggested David Petraeus had shared the classified information.
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The US Department of Justice confirmed today that it will look into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin to determine whether federal prosecutors should file criminal charges against George Zimmerman in the wake of his acquittal.
The department opened an investigation into Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012, but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed.
In a statement Sunday, the Justice Department said the criminal section of the civil rights division, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida are continuing to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal probe, in addition to the evidence and testimony from the state trial.
The statement said that, in the government’s words, “experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation”.
This move follows demands from a furious NAACP for the Obama administration to intervene.
Already, over 100,000 people have signed up to an online petition and the NAACP has written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging the Department of Justice to press civil rights charges against 29-year-old George Zimmerman.
In his first public statement since the verdict, President Barack Obama called for calm on Sunday after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, saying his death was a tragedy and that the country should seek ways to stem gun violence.
Barack Obama urged Americans to broaden “the circle of understanding and compassion” in their communities and put some of the emotion the case has aroused into curtailing gun violence.
On Sunday, Daryl Parks, an attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin was non-committal when asked if they supported the NAACP’s call for George Zimmerman to be prosecuted by the Justice Department.
When asked on Fox News Sunday if Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin and mother, Sybrina Fulton, supported such a move, Daryl Parks seemed to defer.
“The beauty of our country is that we have several tiers of government, several aspects of laws and that different times different aspects apply,” said Daryl Parks.
“Different laws apply at different times, different places apply at different times. That would be a different arena.”
Both Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton chose not to be in the Seminole Circuit Court when the jurors announced their decision just before 10 p.m.
George Crump, the family’s attorney, said that they will still be pursuing a civil case against George Zimmerman.
NAACP President Benjamin Jealous was unequivocal in his response to the not-guilty decision by the Florida jury.
The Department of Justice confirmed that it will investigate the death of Trayvon Martin in the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal
“We are outraged and heartbroken over today’s verdict,” Benjamin Jealous said in a statement.
“We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed,” he said.
Politicians such as Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y) and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson have all added their voices to the NAACP’s position and demanded the administration review the case.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, called the verdict “a sad day in the country” and “a slap in the face to those that believe in justice in this country”.
“I think this is an atrocity,” Al Sharpton said.
“It is probably one of the worst situations that I have seen.”
Jesse Jackson called the verdict: “Old South justice.”
“I’m disappointed and I’m saddened for the family,” Jesse Jackson said.
Benjamin Jealous said Trayvon Martin’s family may bring a civil suit against George Zimmerman but said federal criminal charges must be filed because evidence suggests race was a factor in the case.
He told CNN the black community is upset with a situation in which “our young people have to fear the bad guys and the good guys. The robbers and the cops and the self-appointed community watch volunteer who think that they’re keeping folks safer”.
Al Sharpton cited the example of Rodney King, the man whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police triggered rioting two decades ago after a state criminal trial found the police officers not guilty.
Later, the Justice Department brought a federal case that resulted in the conviction of two officers.
However, after George Zimmerman was found not guilty on second-degree and manslaughter charges by a Florida jury on Saturday, Attorney General Eric Holder has been left with a decision of massive implications.
The enormous pressure on Eric Holder, the United States’ first African-American attorney general, will grow over the coming days – especially in light of previous statements made on the matter.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a review of the shooting and Eric Holder went on record to say that he would take appropriate action if there was sufficient evidence of a civil rights crime.
“If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action, and at every step, the facts and law will guide us forward,” said Eric Holder in a speech in April to Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
However, in remarks subsequent to that, Eric Holder toned-down his comments, saying that the DOJ faces a “very high barrier” to bring federal criminal charges.
Eric Holder made personal remarks about the death of Trayvon Martin in April, saying “as a parent I reacted to it”.
“This is a pain that no parent should have to endure. The notion of having to bury a child is something that is, I think in some ways for a parent, the ultimate pain,” he said.
“The primary responsibility we have in the Justice Department is to support the state in its ongoing investigation, to do our own thorough and parallel investigation which we are in the process of doing and try to resolve this matter in as fair and complete a way and as quickly as we can.”
The full text of the NAACP’s petition to Attorney General Eric Holder
“Attorney General Eric Holder,
The Department of Justice has closely monitored the State of Florida’s prosecution of the case against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder since it began.
Today, with the acquittal of George Zimmerman, it is time for the Department of Justice to act.
The most fundamental of civil rights – the right to life – was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin.
We ask that the Department of Justice file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman for this egregious violation.
Please address the travesties of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin by acting today.
Thank you”
George Zimmerman shot dead Martin in Sanford on February 26th, 2012.
George Zimmerman, 29, maintains he shot Trayvon Martin, 17, in self-defense, while the state argued that Zimmerman “profiled” Martin and concluded he was a criminal.
For their part, the NAACP is trying to build a ground swell of support for its call for federal charges.
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A US judge has ruled today that Apple conspired with publishers to fix the price of electronic books.
Manhattan Judge Denise Cote said the iPad maker “conspired to restrain trade”.
But Apple’s spokesman, Tom Neumayr, said Apple would appeal against the ruling and fight “false allegations”.
Five publishers that were originally named as defendants alongside Apple have already reached settlements, including Penguin.
The judge ordered a new hearing to determine damages to be imposed on Apple.
The US Department of Justice said the conspiracy was designed to challenge online retailer Amazon’s dominance of the fast-growing e-books market.
Penguin settled its case for $75 million. Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster created a $69m fund for refunds to consumers, while Macmillan settled for $26m.
Judge Cote said: “The plaintiffs have shown that the publisher defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy.”
“Without Apple’s orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the spring of 2010,” she said.
US Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer called the ruling “a victory for millions of consumers who choose to read books electronically”.
A US judge has ruled today that Apple conspired with publishers to fix the price of electronic books
He said the judge agreed with the Justice Department and 33 state attorneys general that executives at the highest levels of Apple orchestrated a conspiracy with five major publishers to raise prices.
“Through today’s court decision and previous settlements with five major publishers, consumers are again benefiting from retail price competition and paying less for their e-books,” Bill Baer said.
Consumer groups in the US cheered the news.
“If we let companies get away with this type of price fixing, consumers will be denied a substantial part of the benefits of the digital revolution,” said Dr. Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America, which had filed a supporting brief in the case.
But after the ruling, Tom Neumayr insisted that Apple had brought innovation and competition to the market, not restricted it.
“Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing and we will continue to fight against these false accusations,” he said.
“We’ve done nothing wrong.”
Previously, Apple’s attorney, Orin Snyder, had told the court that Judge Denise Cote would set a “dangerous precedent” if she concluded that Apple manipulated e-book prices.
However, Columbia University law professor Scott Hemphill said today’s ruling was narrow and would be unlikely to set any legal precedent.
“It may send some signals to tech companies about what they can and can’t do,” said Prof. Scott Hemphill.
“But the precedential value is limited because the ruling is by a district court.”
However, he added that the judge in this case took particular pains to anticipate a challenge from Apple – something that chief executive Tim Cook hinted at earlier this year, when he dismissed the idea of a settlement.
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US Department of Justice sues giant tech Apple and major publishers over pricing of e-books.
The US accuses Apple and book publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin of colluding on prices of books on the iPad.
This lawsuit is over the agency model where publishers set the prices of e-books, rather than sellers.
The lawsuit comes a day after Apple surpassed $600 billion in value.
The increase affirmed its position as the world’s most valuable firm.
The US accuses Apple and book publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin of colluding on prices of books on the iPad
“Apple facilitated the publisher defendants’ collective effort to end retail price competition by coordinating their transition to an agency model across all retailers,” according to papers filed in New York’s Sourthern District court on Wednesday morning.
Electronic books are sold according to a different formula from that governing the sales of physical books.
For most physical books publishers set a wholesale price, often about half the cover price, and then let a retailer decide how much they actually want to charge for the title.
This model was initially adopted for e-books but has since been changed for what is known as an agency model.
Under this scheme, publishers set the price of a book and the agent selling it gets a 30% cut. This model was adopted by publishers largely at the prompting of the late Steve Jobs.
The shift to agency pricing was also seen as a protective measure to head off attempts by Amazon to corner the market in e-books. It had been aggressively cutting prices to win customers over to its Kindle e-book reader.
Amazon once tried to apply the wholesale model on book publishers – but was rebuffed by the publishers.
