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No legal obstacle to David Petraeus pick
By JOSH GERSTEIN
CIA director and retired general David Petraeus has said rather emphatically that he isn't interested in serving as Mitt Romney's running mate (or anyone else's), but if he was interested, could he take the mission?
Experts say there's no legal obstacle to Petraeus running for vice president, though he would have to resign his job as Central Intelligence Agency director. And the vetting process might be a bit more awkward than with a typical VP prospect.
A spokeswoman for the Office of Special Counsel, which oversees enforcement of the Hatch Act, said the political activities of CIA personnel and employees of certain other agencies are more restricted than those of federal employees generally. But political appointees like Petraeus have more flexibility.
"A person in a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position, while they can still not run for partisan office, they can advise or manage a political campaign on their own time, unless the agency has rules or restrictions above and beyond the Hatch Act," OSC spokeswoman Ann O'Hanlon said.
However, the basic Hatch Act restriction on running for office does apply to appointees like Petraeus, so he'd have to quit to run, which is something that would seem to be a practical necessity both due to the time requirement of serving as a vice presidential candidate and the social awkwardness of serving in President Barack Obama's cabinet while campaigning for his defeat.
It's unclear how thorough a vetting of Petraeus the Romney camp could do since the bulk of Petraeus's work at the moment is classified. But it wouldn't be the first time someone with access to sensitive intelligence ran for office or even for VP. Former CIA director George H.W. Bush ran with Reagan in 1980 after stepping down as CIA director at the beginning of President Jimmy Carter's term in 1977.
But having such broad access to sensitive intelligence and then transitioning quickly to a partisan political race would raise questions.
"Can he be reading intelligence assessments and then using that to write campaign platforms?" asked Bob Baer, a former CIA officer. "You simply can't have a director of central intelligence running for public office. There would be a total and complete revolt in the ranks."
Baer said the contacts required as part of the vetting process would likely require a normal CIA employee to file an "outside activities report." However, it's unclear how such a report would be handled from the director himself.
"A Petraeus candidacy could generate some anxiety about the politicization of intelligence," said Steven Aftergood, who analyzes classified information and intelligence issues for the Federation of American Scientists. "The abrupt switch from the presumed objectivity of an intelligence agency director to the intense partisanship of a presidential campaign could create confusion between the intelligence officer and the candidate. When Petraeus criticizes the administration: will it be the campaigner or the CIA director who is speaking?"
Aftergood also noted that CIA employees have a lifetime obligation to clear speeches, books and other statements through the agency. This rule applies to "all intelligence-related materials," according to CIA policy. However, this doesn't seem to have muzzled former directors, like Bush or Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
"Petraeus himself would have to exercise a degree of self-censorship or at least 'pre-publication review' to avoid the appearance of exploiting classified information for political gain," Aftergood said. "Otherwise, there are no legal or technical barriers to such a candidacy as far as I know."
David Petraeus
Pre-Publication Review