Actually, Patraeus pled to one MISDEMEANOR count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material; an offense that many high-level military officers have probably been guilty of over the years. He was keeping his calendar and notes of meetings he had had, notably with President Obama.
He had left the military when he provided the notes to the woman who was writing a biography about him, and during this time she became his mistress. She was a Reserve Officer who had a clearance sufficient for her to see the documents, but alas she did not have a "need to know."
I seldom agree with Geraldo Rivera, but I agree with his recent declaration that Patraeus should immediately be given a pardon, reinstated in the Army and sent to Iraq to defeat ISIS. Patraeus wrote the book on successful counterinsurgency.
It might be helpful to recall that General Eisenhower had an affair with his British female driver; General Patton had an affair with his niece, and other women; and although MacArthur had his wife with him throughout the war, his Chief of Staff had a mistress with him throughout the war in the Pacific.
Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. - Henry Kissinger (While dating Jill St. John.)