Kevin Johnson

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pleaded guilty Monday to making false statements related to the disclosure of classified information about the secret cyber strategy to disable the Iranian nuclear program.

The guilty plea to one felony count effectively ends a four-year investigation, during which retired Marine general James Cartwright lied about providing the secret information to New York Times reporter David Sanger for a 2012 book and related newspaper article. In a brief court appearance Monday, the four-star general known as "Hoss,'' wearing a business suit and familiar military-style haircut, acknowledged giving false information to FBI agents during a 2012, about his dealings with Sanger and with then-Newsweek correspondent Daniel Klaidman.

Although the maximum punishment for the offense is five years in prison, the government and defense lawyers have agreed on a maximum range of up to just six months. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon set Cartwright's sentencing hearing for Jan. 17.

"It was wrong for me to mislead the FBI on Nov. 2, 2012, and I accept full responsibility for this," Cartwright said in a written statement issued after the hearing. "I knew I was not the source of the story and I didn't want to be blamed for the leak. "My only goal in talking to the reporters was to protect American interests and lives; I love my country and continue to this day to do everything I can to defend it."

Gregory Craig, the general's attorney, said Cartwright had "spent his whole life putting the national interest first.''

"That's why he talked to the reporters in the first place — to protect American interests and lives in a story they had already written,'' Craig said. "In his conversations with these two reporters, general Cartwright was engaged in a well-known and understood practice of attempting to save national secrets, now disclosing classified information. His effort to prevent publication of information that might harm American lives or national security does not constitute a violation of any law. General Cartwright's offense was in statements he made to FBI agents investigating a leak, and that is the entire basis for his plea.''

Cartwright had been the subject of the leak inquiry since at least 2012, after Sanger published information about the strategy that carried the code name "Olympic Games.''

"After investigators showed Cartwright a list of quotes and statements from David Sanger's book, a number of which contained classified information, Cartwright falsely told investigators that he was not the source of any of the quotes and statements,'' the court documents state.

Cartwright's plea comes in the midst of a contentious presidential campaign where the handling of classified information by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton remains a central issue, despite the Justice Department's decision earlier this year not to bring criminal charges after a yearlong investigation into her use of private email server while secretary of State.

Though it did not warrant prosecution, FBI Director James Comey characterized Clinton's handling of sensitive information on an unauthorized private server as "extremely careless.''

Comey's conclusion, issued in July, continues to be questioned by Republican lawmakers and supporters of Republican nominee Donald Trump, as the FBI has released investigative documents related to the now-closed email investigation.

The most recent release of investigative documents came hours before Cartwright's hearing, and included an account of a State Department official allegedly urging the FBI to alter the classification of secret documents found on Clinton's private server as part of a deal that would allow the FBI to place additional agents abroad.

The FBI and State Department on Monday each denied that such an arrangement occurred.

Cartwright is the second former military general and top government official in two years to enter a guilty plea related to the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

Last year, David Petraeus, the retired four-star Army general who once commanded military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, was sentenced to two years probation for leaking a trove of classified information to his mistress and biographer, Paula Broadwell. The single misdemeanor count involved Petraeus' unauthorized removal of eight binders containing highly secret government information.

In accepting Cartwright's plea Monday, Judge Leon asked the former general who stood before the bench to publicly acknowledge his guilt.

"So, you are pleading guilty because you are in fact guilty?'' Leon asked.

"Yes, sir,'' Cartwright responded.

Before releasing the general to await the January sentencing, Leon offered a polite yet ominous warning to a man who had previously held one of the highest offices in the military:

"You are in a little different situation now then before you entered this room,'' Leon said, cautioning Cartwright to "stay on the straight and narrow'' before his next court appearance.