Buchanan, who has worked for 3 presidents said on a news program yesterday that all appointments which require Senate approval require FBI background checks. This he said is to be sure the candidate is not subject to blackmail. But whether it is CIA or FBI, the information would have been ferreted out and found its way to Obamas desk.
That I agree with. Here is Pat Buchanan saying that the CIA did the "full field investigation" of Petraeus.
Pat Buchanan asks whether CIA blew it with initial field investigation of Petraeus