Some Leaks Are More Equal Than Others – Hypocritical D.C. Insiders Line up to Defend General Petraeus from Prosecution

David Petraeus, the person who Feinstein said has “suffered enough,” was hired last year by the $73 billion investment fund KKR to be Chairman of its newly created KKR Global Institute, on top of the $220,000/year pension he receives from the U.S. Army and the teaching position he holds at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Let us all pause for a moment to lament the deep suffering of this man, and the grave injustice of inflicting any further deprivation upon him.

This latest example from Feinstein is one of the most vivid yet. She wanted Julian Assange – who isn’t even a U.S. citizen and never served in the U.S. Government – prosecuted for espionage for exposing war crimes, and demanded that Edward Snowden be charged with “treason” for exposing illegal eavesdropping which shocked the world. But a four-star general who leaked classified information not for any noble purpose but to his mistress for personal reasons should be protected from any legal consequences.

– From Glenn Greenwald’s recent piece: Dianne Feinstein, Strong Advocate of Leak Prosecutions, Demands Immunity for David Petraeus

The decimation of the rule of law in these United States has been the key theme at Liberty Blitzkrieg for several years now. The reason I put such an emphasis on this horrible development, is because I think it trumps all others in significance. While the world will always have crime and corruption, the inability for a society to deal with rich and powerful people who engage in such practices thrusts a spear directly into the heart of any given civilization or society. It results in an exponential increase in elite criminality, and a concurrent death spiral downward into a culture primarily defined by a depraved, unaccountable oligarchy. These are symptoms of a fallen society, and these symptoms are evident all around us.

The examples of this two-tiered justice system, if you can even call it that, are everywhere. One particularly noteworthy example relates to money laundering, and how the U.S. government deals with this crime. I wrote several articles on this topic last year. I suggest reading them before continuing with this post.

The first was titled, Some Money Launderers are “More Equal” than Others. Here’s an excerpt:

The difference in approach and in the application “justice” could not be more clear.  In the case of Liberty Reserve, the entity was isolated from the U.S. financial system and those arrested will be targeted for extradition.  Meanwhile a global manhunt is most likely on for the two remaining men at large.  In other words, “money laundering” was uncovered and the “justice” in this case is that the operation was closed and the participants arrested.  Ok.

Compare that to the HSBC settlement.  No bank or bank executives were indicted despite  the clear fact that there was a great deal of irresponsibility and criminality involved here.  Not only that, but the bank merely has to pay a portion of its profits and life goes on.  Like the IRS agents, they say they are “sorry” and promise to never do it again.  That’s what happens when oligarchs or their minions break the law.  When a regular citizen breaks the law, your life is ruined forever.

The second was titled, Some Money Launderers are More Equal than Others Part 2 – CEO of BitInstant is Arrested, which highlights the case of BitInstant founder Charlie Shrem, who will be jailed for 2 years for what appears to be a trivial non-crime, which had no apparent victims and involved a very small sum of money. It’s interesting to note how aggressively the government, in particular, targets individuals specifically involved in any sort of competing free market currency.

Moving along to today’s topic, which involves the leaking of classified government documents. Whenever whistleblowers have emerged to share important information about our government’s criminal activity, these individuals are either jailed or their lives are ruined. The examples are many.

We have Private Manning, who is currently in jail for releasing videos of war crimes to Wikileaks. There’s also the case of former NSA employee Thomas Drake, as well as John Kiriakou ,the only person jailed with regard to the U.S. torture program, and that’s only because he leaked information about it to the public. Of course, we all know about Edward Snowden, who correctly predicted his fate and wisely fled the country before informing the world of the dystopian nightmare being constructed in the shadows by the NSA and the U.S. government.

In the effort to demonize these American heroes, Washington D.C. political hacks and mainstream media pundits consistently pointed to how dangerous leaking classified information is, and how these individuals must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In contrast, many of these same cronies are coming out to vigorously defend David Petraeus. First, from the Guardian:

Though under investigation by the FBI for unauthorized disclosure of classified information related to an affair with his biographer, David Petraeus counts among his defenders a host of prominent politicians who typically denounce security leaks.

The former US army general and CIA director has deep ties to a bipartisan host of political heavyweights, from potential Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to former Republican presidential nominee John McCain, and a well of media support stemming from his stewardship of the 2007-08 Iraq troop surge. Many have raced to support Petraeus in the days since word emerged that the most acclaimed military officer of his generation might face felony charges.

Even though leaks inquiries have ruined other careers and lives, Petraeus’s many high-profile political champions suggest an inevitability to his return, particularly in the event that Clinton receives the Democratic presidential nomination.

The FBI’s investigation into Petraeus has lasted about three years; according to statute, it can persist for 10 years without an indictment. According to the New York Times, federal prosecutors have now recommended that the Justice Department bring charges against him, prompting a chorus of outrage from Petraeus’s many Washington allies.

Petraeus retains his security clearance, which permits him access to classified and sensitive information, though it is unclear if he currently uses it. Even as the FBI inquiry continues, Petraeus has continued to advise the Obama administration on Iraq, Bloomberg View has reported. Yet he has uncharacteristically avoided high-profile appearances and policy speeches.

The last several days have seen an outpouring of support for Petraeus from politicians who typically consider unauthorized disclosures to be serious offenses.

Dianne Feinstein, the former chair of the Senate intelligence committee and a fervent critic of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, said on Sunday that Petraeus had “suffered enough” for his “mistake”.

Well isn’t that nice. Unfortunately, under the rule of law, it doesn’t matter whether a powerful Senator thinks he has suffered enough. What matters is that the law should apply to Petraeus as it has applied to so many others. Or, better yet, the others shouldn’t have been prosecuted in the first place. The one thing you can’t do is let off insiders for the same crimes you hunt down lower lever employees for.

McCain and his ally on the Senate armed services committee, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, issued a joint statement over the weekend denouncing the official leakers who described federal prosecutors’ decision-making to the Times. 

Few other accused leakers in the past have enjoyed such support. Former NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake lost his clearance following a years-long leak prosecution that ended with a misdemeanor guilty plea.

Glenn Greenwald added his two cents poignantly as ever in his recent piece:

David Petraeus, the person who Feinstein said has “suffered enough,” was hired last year by the $73 billion investment fund KKR to be Chairman of its newly created KKR Global Institute, on top of the $220,000/year pension he receives from the U.S. Army and the teaching position he holds at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Let us all pause for a moment to lament the deep suffering of this man, and the grave injustice of inflicting any further deprivation upon him.

This latest example from Feinstein is one of the most vivid yet. She wanted Julian Assange – who isn’t even a U.S. citizen and never served in the U.S. Government – prosecuted for espionage for exposing war crimes, and demanded that Edward Snowden be charged with “treason” for exposing illegal eavesdropping which shocked the world. But a four-star general who leaked classified information not for any noble purpose but to his mistress for personal reasons should be protected from any legal consequences.

Long-standing mavens of DC political power literally believe that they and their class-comrades are too noble, important and elevated to be subjected to the rule of law to which they subject everyone else. They barely even disguise it any more. It’s the dynamic by which the Obama administration prosecuted leakers with unprecedented aggression who disclose information that embarrasses them politically while ignoring or even sanctioning the leaks of classified information which politically glorify them.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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