Is adultery actually illegal? If so, in all states and DC?
Adultery is illegal if you are in the military. It’s in the UCMJ (Uniformed Code of Military Justice). Adultery is on the books in some states as well but rarely, if ever, prosecuted.
It is illegal (and prosecutable) under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). My post#1 to this thread was deleted (I must have posted a Getty image or something).
To reiterate, in my military career I never saw a female officer charged with and prosecuted for adultery. I am not saying it never happened, but it was very rare. I have seen make officers charged, prosecuted, and jailed because of adultery in the military.
My guess is that politics plays a huge role here. The military is reluctant to prosecute female officers for adultery and be seen as pinning a scarlet letter on their uniforms.
Double standard? Very, very likely.
The valid point here, however, is that Gen (ret) Petraeus will not be so fortunate:
Violation of the code of military conduct.
It’s a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the primary source for charges against military members. If she wasn’t on orders or performing inactive duty training, she’s not subject to the UCMJ.