David Petraeus, four star general in the US Army, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq and commander of US forces in Afghanistan and former CIA Director also leaked classified material and he got hit by a wet bus ticket:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-04/b ... rd/6280708
"Petraeus, on the other hand, handed to his mistress (who was also writing his biography) eight "black books", which he had kept while commanding in Afghanistan, and which contained information including classified notes, the identities of covert officers, details about US intelligence, code words and accounts of his meetings with President Obama. He then lied to the FBI about it. It wasn't until after the FBI found the books (which he had since retrieved) in an unlocked drawer at his home that he admitted what he had done.
The material Petraeus handed over included, by his admission, information of the highest top-secret status. In intelligence terms, a treasure trove, and its public disclosure would have been ruinous to the USA's interests. Fortunately, none of it was ever made public. As for Petraeus's motivation, well, it was personal gain of the basest kind. He certainly didn't suggest he was acting in the public interest.
There's a second difference between these cases. As noted, Manning got 35 years and Snowden faces 30 years if the Americans ever get their hands on him. Petraeus, by contrast, has reached a plea bargain with US prosecutors under which he will plead guilty to a misdemeanour with a recommended penalty of two years' probation and a $40,000 fine. No jail time."
Petraeus - hero or traitor?