Petraeus Affair Could End Broadwell's Army Career (But She Won't Be Prosecuted for Adultery)

Military Dot Com ^ | 13 Nov 12 | Bryant Jordan

[SkyPilot]

The Army Reserve officer alleged to have had an affair with former CIA Director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus could be forced out of the service.

Paula Broadwell, a lieutenant colonel with a top secret security clearance, is under investigation by the FBI for sending anonymous, threatening emails to a Florida woman who is friends with Petraeus. The FBI traced the emails to Broadwell’s computer, and in so doing uncovered evidence of her affair with Petraeus.

No charges have been filed against Broadwell. However, the emails, as well as public statements she reportedly made about the U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, could end her 15-year military career, according to Phil Cave, a retired Navy judge advocate in Washington DC who specializes in military law in private practice.

"If there is an issue with her judgment they can seek to revoke her clearance," Cave said on Monday, noting Broadwell's reported statements that the CIA was holding prisoners in the Benghazi compound that came under attack. The CIA has denied it was holding prisoners and that detail has been reported by no other media outlet.

If officials can determine that Broadwell committed any offenses or unprofessional conduct during a current period of active duty, she could be flagged and held on active duty for prosecution the same as any other active-duty member, Cave said. That would make her subject to all the disciplinary actions available, including letters of reprimand or dismissal. If she is in a Reserve unit and not on orders then any action likely would be limited to administrative punishment, which still could include being dismissed from the service, Cave said.

Cave did not expect prosecutors to pursue adultery charges against Broadwell, a punishable offense in the U.S. military.

"I doubt she'd be prosecuted for the adultery."

[edcoil]

I would hope losing her husband and family would be the worse think to happen but with this group I am not so sure. I do know we have an embassy and ambassador down in Libya and no one seems to care.

[samadams2000]

People keep saying Petaeus is a man of integrity. He is not. If he does not testify to the Bengahzi timeline he has the blood of Americans on his hands. 4 dead Americans and the CIA chief does not testify? The Sec State is drinking in Australia? The DOD chief says he’s reading about all of this in the paper. Where is the outrage? When do we go French Revolution II on DC?

[TurboZamboni]

it’s OK. there are different rules for women:
different PT test
no Selective Service sign up required
mandatory return from the field for showers
and of course, what you just wrote.

[SkyPilot]

Well, look where we are as a nation. I see Biblical judgment coming down on us just as it did on ancient Israel.

There is another angle to her not be prosecuted for adultery that the media won't touch with a nine foot pole. Since Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed and homosexuality is now DoD approved, adultery cases (especially high profile public ones as this one is) will be harder to prosecute. Don't think that the military can't force those down a military court's throat, because they can. My point it they won't, especially against a female officer, and most especially in a high profile case.

Lt Col Broadwell is a West Point graduate. She knows the rules. At the very least, the military could throw the book at her for violating Article 133 of the UCMJ. Don't expect that to happen.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I read elsewhere that Ms. Broadwell left email messages to the General in his draft folder on his computer, and he did the same for here. That is how she had access to his computer to send threatening emails to Ms. Kelley.

Could this possibly be true? Why the heck does an underling, a reserve office, a half-civilian have access to the General’s computer? Doesn’t that seem bizarre to anybody? Isn’t that a blatant infringement of classified rules?

And when are we going to learn exactly what the threats were that sent Ms. Kelley running to the FBI to protect her?

Doesn’t all of this intrigue seem rather incestuous?

[afraidfortherepublic]

She knows the rules. At the very least, the military could throw the book at her for violating Article 133 of the UCMJ. Don't expect that to happen.

It should.

[edcoil]

I would hope losing her husband and family would be the worse think to happen but with this group I am not so sure. I do know we have an embassy and ambassador down in Libya and no one seems to care.

[Uri’el-2012]

It seems as if a couple of crazy
Lebanese twins are running CentCom.

[stoneyhll]

They posted messages to each other in a gmail account. You do not need access to the general’s computer to do that. You only need the password to the account.

[nascarnation]

LOL
The twins have a robust career ahead in the reality tv biz.
I can see DWTS, RHW, and maybe even their own Kardashianesque gig.

[bigbob]

I am boggled at the word “could”. Seems to me it guaran-damn-teed should end her military career.

I haven’t served in the military but in the private business world, you would not pass go or collect $200, you would be out the door.

[camle]

they should introduce her to monica lewinsky. the two of them can commiserate...two peas in a pod

[SkyPilot]

The media is also getting a huge portion of this story wrong. They keep referring to Paula Broadwell as a "former Army officer."

That is 100% WRONG. She is currently a Lt Col in the US Army Reserves as a commissioned 0-5. She was promoted as recently as August 2012 - that was 3 months ago!

On top of everything else, she apparently revealed classified information to a 'symposium' and when the FBI seized her laptop they found classified documents on it.

Let me tell you in the clearest of terms: there are currently officers in the Disciplinary Barracks of Fort Leavenworth who are serving 25 years to life for those offenses right now. Tack on the adultery, conduct unbecoming, and fraternization charges, and she would be beyond toast.

[TChris]

I am boggled at the word “could”. Seems to me it guaran-damn-teed should end her military career.

I'd guess some deals were made.

[stuartcr]

Is adultery actually illegal? If so, in all states and DC?

[SkyPilot]

My wife used to tell me never to trust a woman who cocks her head to one side during a photograph. I never knew what she meant until now.

[alarm rider]

You are correct. Petaeus is not a man of integrity, he got himself into this whole mess because he lacked the will to keep it zipped. Shame on him, I offer no sympathy for a guy in a position of power who cannot be trusted to understand that bad conduct has bad consequences.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Thanks for the explanation. The account I heard said that they left their messages in a draft folder. I’m thinking of OUTLOOK where only the person in possession of the computer has access to the draft folder and furthermore only the draft folder in their own account.

[Ted Grant]

Her cray cray sister looks a bit flabby.

[thefactor]

Adultery is illegal if you are in the military. It’s in the UCMJ (Uniformed Code of Military Justice). Adultery is on the books in some states as well but rarely, if ever, prosecuted.

[nascarnation]

[SkyPilot]

Is adultery actually illegal? If so, in all states and DC?

It is illegal (and prosecutable) under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). My post#1 to this thread was deleted (I must have posted a Getty image or something).

To reiterate, in my military career I never saw a female officer charged with and prosecuted for adultery. I am not saying it never happened, but it was very rare. I have seen make officers charged, prosecuted, and jailed because of adultery in the military.

My guess is that politics plays a huge role here. The military is reluctant to prosecute female officers for adultery and be seen as pinning a scarlet letter on their uniforms.

Double standard? Very, very likely.

The valid point here, however, is that Gen (ret) Petraeus will not be so fortunate:

Petraeus Could Be Prosecuted by Military for Adultery

[lodi90]

The media is also getting a huge portion of this story wrong. They keep referring to Paula Broadwell as a “former Army officer.”

---

Agreed. The presstitutes are so brazenly sloppy now. They can’t even get the basic facts right. But they don’t care because it’s all about the marxist propaganda and hollywood style gotcha “journalism” now.

[ansel12]

In tailhook about 83 women and 100 men were involved, I would like to see a follow up on the women’s lives and careers.

Scandal used to purge the military, in preparation for new social policies.
“The careers of fourteen admirals and almost 300 naval aviators were scuttled or damaged by Tailhook.”

“The controversy was dramatized in the 1995 TV film She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal. Since the scandal, women have become more accepted as aviators in the US Navy’s aviation community.”

“John Lehman, in 2011, lamented what he considered to be a negative legacy from Tailhook on the navy’s aviation culture. Lehman felt that the scandal had removed the necessary swagger and confidence from the navy’s aviation culture and replaced it with a focus on integrating women and, more recently, homosexuality.”

[CheneyChick]

UCMJ is being held over both Petraeus and Broadwell, imho. If they keep their mouths shut over Benghazi, the UCMJ threat goes away.

[hondact200]

Jezebil in the Old Testament was he downfall of one king.
Delilah was the downfall of Samson
A witch was part of the desrruction of King Saul.
David lusted after Bathsheeba and caused for some real problems in his kingship for a time with his eldest child Absalom causing for problems.

There is more to this story than what is being reported. A lot that is breaking was held back until after the election. the more that comes out will implicate Obama through Valerie Jarrett. Just watch Valerie Jarrett and follow her coming and going and you will see the results unfold in matter of days.

[Cboldt]

-- The account I heard said that they left their messages in a draft folder. I'm thinking of OUTLOOK where only the person in possession of the computer has access to the draft folder and furthermore only the draft folder in their own account. --

If you have gmail.com mail (or similar), you can compose and read the related e-mails entire online, via your browser. Other than appearing on your display screen, those e-mails never leave gmail.com's server.

Terrorists use the "shared draft folder" method to communicate without actually sending an email. All the network traffic is browser traffic.

Supposedly, the harassing emails sent (supposedly) by Broadwell to Kelly were anonymous / anonymized somehow. If Broadwell sent the harassing communications from the same gmail.com account she used to communicate with Petraeus, well, "stupid" comes to mind, unless she intended to associate Petraeus with the harassment, along with herself.

[gotribe]

She’ll make more money as a call girl.

[Carry_Okie]

Paula Broadwell, a lieutenant colonel with a top secret security clearance,

Is anybody else bothered by this? There are many talented people who work like dogs for thirty years and never get that far up into the ranks. What did she do to earn it?

Don't answer that.

[lodi90]

If Broadwell sent the harassing communications from the same gmail.com account she used to communicate with Petraeus, well, “stupid” comes to mind, unless she intended to associate Petraeus with the harassment, along with herself.

---

I don’t think she is that stupid. Presumably the FBI tracked her IP addresses and got a court order for all her other email accounts. Or maybe the whole FBI story is a fairy tale. Who knows at this point.

[Verginius Rufus]

The woman who made the false charges of rape against the Duke Lacrosse students, Crystal Mangum, was guilty of adultery while in the Navy (I think it was). I don’t remember all the details but I think they kicked her out of the service rather than prosecuting her.

[GVnana]

Of course it should end her career. The woman is obviously a menace.

[GVnana]

Violation of the code of military conduct.

[Cboldt]

-- Presumably the FBI tracked her IP addresses and got a court order for all her other email accounts. Or maybe the whole FBI story is a fairy tale. --

If I have the FBI involvement correct, it makes sense, and was a sort of "favor for a friend," thing. Kelly mentioned the harassing e-mails to a friend who is an FBI agent. This is the agent who sent the shirtless pics to Kelly, but before this harassing e-mail issue surfaced. The FBI has jurisdiction and authority under federal law to investigate and prosecute cyberstalking. No that they spend big chunks of resources on this, but at least it's work they are supposed to be doing.

I figure Broadwell tried to hide her ID (and didn't use the gmail.com account shared with Petraeus to originate the harassing communications), but left enough of a trail that investigators could get back to her as the sender. At that point, they are investigating Broadwell. They already have whatever court orders are necessary to investigate HER for violations of federal law, so sweeping all of her e-mail into view is natural. That's when Petraeus came into view.

[Veto!]

Here’s another take on the affair, possibility of prosecution, etc from psychologist Stanton Peele who writes about addiction. Not sure I agree he’s right about Petraeus, but love the Leonard Cohen lyrics at the bottom of the article:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201211/is-petraeus-strung-out-love

[Veto!]

Here’s another take on the affair, possibility of prosecution, etc from psychologist Stanton Peele who writes about addiction. Not sure I agree he’s right about Petraeus, but love the Leonard Cohen lyrics at the bottom of the article:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201211/is-petraeus-strung-out-love

[Scrambler Bob]

I suggest to General P. that he use the DADT defense.

Claim that he is LGBTQ, and so is Paula.

So they were just Questioning / Experimenting with their sexuality.

DADT, Right? Problem solved!

[jagusafr]

Unfortunately, “naked adultery” (an unfortunate shorthand for adultery without other UCMJ violations) is not prosecuted by Air Force (and probably other branches as well) policy. I have never understood the mindset that allows this sort of policy to be effected. It pulls the rug out from under any sort of prosecution for conduct that “offends morality” and it completely ignores that, superior-subordinate or not, it adversely affects good order and discipline.

[jagusafr]

It’s a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the primary source for charges against military members. If she wasn’t on orders or performing inactive duty training, she’s not subject to the UCMJ.

[Daveinyork]

As Rush said, today, the Generals are taking orders from their privates.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Remember what happened to General Pace for refusing to condone immoral acts.

[RobbyS]

The proof of his lack of integrity would be our learning that he knew that the administration knew about his affair and testifed falsely on September 16 to support the Administration cover story. We know that if the cover was blown, the it would affect the election by keeping the Benghazi mess in the news. If he did this hoping to keep his job, then we know what kind of man he is. I mean, after all, Benedict Arnold was a brilliant military commander.

[RobbyS]

If sodomy is Ok, then why are adultery and fornication wrong? Answer, none of them are now thought to be objectively wrong .

[RobbyS]

We are led by men who put their careers first. Hoe else explain the actions of the general who dismissed the murders at Ft. Hood as less important than protecting “diversity” in the service. The man deserves contempt, but the Present Chairman is also a tool of the administration.