James Cartwright

For other people named James Cartwright, see James Cartwright (disambiguation).

James Cartwright
"Hoss" Cartwright in August 2007
Nickname(s)"Hoss"[1]
Born (1949-09-22) September 22, 1949 (age 75)
Rockford, Illinois, United States
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Marine Corps
Years of service1971–2011
RankGeneral
CommandsVice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2007–11)
United States Strategic Command (2004–07)
1st Marine Aircraft Wing (2000–02)
Marine Aircraft Group 31 (1994–96)
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (1992)
Battles/warsWar on Terror
AwardsDefense Distinguished Service Medal (4)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit (2)

James Edward "Hoss" Cartwright[2] (born September 22, 1949) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who last served as the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31, 2007, to August 3, 2011. He previously served as the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, from September 1, 2004, to August 10, 2007, and as Acting Commander, U.S. Strategic Command from July 9, 2004, to September 1, 2004. He retired from the Marine Corps on August 3, 2011, after nearly 40 years of service.

Cartwright was accused of providing classified information that was published in the book Confront and Conceal by David Sanger.[3] During the course of the investigation, Cartwright agreed to be interviewed by the FBI without a lawyer present.[4] He was indicted for lying to the FBI regarding the time and locations of meetings with Sanger.[4] Cartwright was never charged with leaking any classified information; Sanger maintains that Cartwright did not provide him with any classified material.[4] On October 17, 2016, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI regarding an investigation into the source of leaked classified information. He had been scheduled to be sentenced on January 31, 2017,[5] but was pardoned and had his security clearance restored[4] by President Barack Obama on January 17, 2017.[6]

  1. ^ Bush, President George W. (June 28, 2007). "President Bush Nominates Admiral Michael Mullen and General James Cartwright to Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff". Office of the Press Secretary, The White House. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  2. ^ "Pardons Granted by President Barack Obama (2009-2014) | PARDON | Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015.
  3. ^ Savage, Charlie (January 17, 2017). "Obama Pardons James Cartwright, General Who Lied to F.B.I. in Leak Case". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Sanger, David E. The perfect weapon : war, sabotage, and fear in the cyber age (First ed.). New York. ISBN 9780451497895. OCLC 1039082430.
  5. ^ Gerstein, Josh (January 10, 2017). "Journalists' letters submitted in Cartwright leniency bid". Politico. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Williams, Katie Bo (January 17, 2017). "Obama pardons James Cartwright in leak case". The Hill. Retrieved January 17, 2017.