File photo of Former CIA director and retired general David Petraeus. (Reuters)
A court sentenced former CIA chief David Petraeus to two years' probation and fined him $100,000 on Thursday for providing classified secrets to his mistress, US justice officials said.
Petraeus, the former general feted in the US as the man who changed the course of the Iraq war, pleaded guilty in a North Carolina court, avoiding a trial that would have cast an embarrassing light on details of his affair and his flouting of secrecy laws.
The plea deal caps a dramatic fall from grace for Petraeus, a decorated four-star general who became the most revered commander of his generation over his role in the Iraq war.
The Justice Department previously said that Petraeus had acknowledged giving eight "black books" -- logs he kept as the US commander in Afghanistan -- to his lover and biographer, Paula Broadwell.
Petraeus "admitted to the unauthorized removal and retention of classified information and lying to the FBI and CIA about his possession and handling of classified information," acting US Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose said in a statement following sentencing.
"Petraeus was sentenced to a two-year probationary term and was ordered to pay $100,000 fine."