Former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director David H. Petraeus, who had been charged for providing highly classified materials to a mistress, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and could be sentenced to up to one year in prison.

However, prosecutors had recommended a two-year probation and no prison under the plea agreement.

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Petraeus has reached a plea deal for one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials when he was director of the CIA and gave these to his mistress.

A highly regarded military commander, Petraeus led the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and was the brain behind a counterinsurgency strategy that could be considered a future warfare model. 

He was also considered to be a possible vice presidential or presidential candidate before his downfall.

The cause of Petraeus fall from power was a former Army Reserve Officer who interviewed him in 2011 for a biography, Paula Broadwell, whom he admitted to be his mistress. 

The former CIA head reportedly gave Broadwell his "black books", which contained highly classified notes about national security meetings, war strategy, and intelligence operations.

In 2012, Petraeus resigned as head of the CIA and acknowledged the affair with Broadwell even as he remained married to Holly Petraeus.  He, however, denied the criminal charges.

Most of Petraeus accolades were in relation to the Iraq war in 2007, where he directed the American forces that pushed the Al Qaeda out of the country and thus stabilizing Iraq.

President Obama then tasked Petraeus to do the same in Afghanistan, where the Taliban forces had gained a sizeable territory. 

It was because of these feats that he was tapped to lead the CIA.

When Petraeus resigned in 2012, President Obama in his press conference reportedly appeared to clear him, noting that he had no evidence that Petraeus had disclosed classified information "that in any way would have had a negative impact on our national security". 

TagsDavid Petraeus, CIA Scandal