When Bureaucratic Wars Become Political Footballs

When a former General who lead American forces in the Iraq War, and then lead the CIA afterwards, is the subject of a criminal investigation, it's hard to tell if they can receive a fair trial to begin with. That task becomes harder when the investigation leaks into the public. FBI and DOJ officials working on the case know the major stakes of their decisions, but they leak anyway. We might want to call them stupid. They're not though. They're feeling stonewalled.

Former CIA Director and General David Petraeus could be facing felony charges for passing along classified information to his mistress while at the CIA. The investigators are feeling frustrated with the status of their case. The leaks seem to prove that:

Justice Department prosecutors are recommending charges be filed against Petraeus for disclosure of classified information, a federal law enforcement official told CNN on Friday. The New York Times was first to report that the charges had been recommended.

The official said the FBI has provided sufficient evidence to the Department of Justice to bring felony charges against Petraeus for providing classified information to former mistress Paula Broadwell while he was the director of the CIA.

He allegedly provided documents to Broadwell, who was working on a book with the former director.

Now, if true, these charges seem to suggest a serious crime was committed. Mr. Petraeus should have known better after his career, if it's true. The investigators aren't leaking this though to help their case in court. They're leaking it because they believe the political appointed leadership of the Department of Justice is either slow-walking their case or attempting to squash it. They are taking this into the court of public opinion against a relatively popular public figure, because they are unhappy with the state of things. This is in-house, bureaucratic fighting, which goes on in all administrations, every day. It doesn't always get this public, but it does happen. We're getting a rare look at it.