[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 520]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         ADMINISTRATION URGED NOT TO PROSECUTE GENERAL PETRAEUS

  (Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I will be circulating a letter for 
signature urging the administration not to prosecute General Petraeus. 
It will ask Eric Holder to use his prosecutorial discretion to close 
the file now. And if Attorney General Holder will not do so, to urge 
the President to immediately pardon General Petraeus.
  Keep in mind that General Petraeus has an incredible record of 
service to our Nation. The items he disclosed, if any, were to an Army 
Reserve Officer who had security clearance, and the disclosure has not 
gone any further. Given his record to our country, we should not be 
spending taxpayer dollars in this prosecution.
  But here is the delicious irony. While the prosecutors accuse General 
Petraeus of mistakenly disclosing confidential information--maybe they 
are right, maybe not--they themselves have clearly and intentionally 
violated law and disclosed confidential information, namely that they 
are making a recommendation to the Attorney General that he prosecute 
General Petraeus. So if the Justice Department has unlimited funds to 
investigate and prosecute, perhaps they should start with their own 
ranks and at least purge their ranks of those who violate their 
employment responsibilities and leak confidential information.

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