As for Petraeus, I suspect he would have skated completely except for the possibility he might run for office as a Republican. The Dems are good at sniffing out possible enemies for future elective positions. And the Clintons? I pray that this is their Waterloo.......FINALLY!
Petraeus was stalked by a stupid blabbermouth bimbo and was very guilty of poor judgement. However, the case would have never seen the light of day had he not foolishly telegraphed his political aspirations. He was not subtle enough when approached by the Republicans ... even mentioned in ...gasp ....print~!
Punishment may have been on the light side because the aforementioned bimbo and her sister serviced half the command staff and may (I say may) had some Middle Eastern family connection. In the sluts' defense, they may have thought they were just helping with morale.