Free Republic

The collapse of the dazzling career of CIA Director David H. Petraeus was triggered when a woman with whom he was having an affair sent threatening e-mails to another woman close to him, according to three senior law enforcement officials with knowledge of the episode. The recipient of the e-mails was so frightened that she went to the FBI for protection and help tracking down the sender, according to the officials. The FBI investigation traced the threats to Paula Broadwell, a former military officer and a Petraeus biographer, and uncovered explicit e-mails between Broadwell and Petraeus, the officials said.

Did the cuckolded husband of Paula Broadwell send a letter to a New York Times advice column back in July that revealed he knew of her affair with David Petraeus? That intriguing possibility has been raised after canny observers dug out the July 13th edition of Chuck Klosterman's 'The Ethicist' and pointed to extraordinary coincidences between one readers letter and the now scandalous love tryst. Writing about a deepening relationship he knew his wife was having with a 'government executive' whose job 'is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership' the anonymous man offers up what could be considered...

I reached out to a senior military source who has worked with Petraeus, (P4) as he's referred to within the service, and who helped provide background information for Broadwell's book. I'll call the officer "James Downing"). A transcript of our conversation follows: BI: Did anyone know about the affair before today? James: I'm not sure anyone really "knew", per se. But it's one of those things that, as soon as the announcement was made, I knew in an instant who it was. Everything made sense. Who had exclusive access to him? Who wrote the hagiography on his life? Who framed...

CIA Director David Petraeus resigned over an extramarital affair, according to a letter he sent to CIA staff. The news was confirmed by Press Secretary Jay Carney in a briefing this afternoon. Slate's Fred Kaplan quickly reported that the affair was with Paula Broadwell — Gen. Petraeus' biographer who was embedded with him in Afghanistan. Now, NBC is reporting that the FBI has been investigating Broadwell, fearing that she had access to some confidential information.

Duane, what puzzles me is why Petraeus’ resignation disqualifies him from testifying at all. I’m not the only one puzzled, either. NRO’s Katrina Trinko can’t figure it out: Perhaps there is some protocol I’m unaware of, but I don’t see why resigning should affect whether Petraeus testifies or not. He was in charge of the CIA when the Benghazi attack occurred, and the CIA has been under plenty of fire for how the attack was handled. Neither can John Hinderaker: This gets curiouser: Petraeus was scheduled to testify before a Congressional committee on Benghazi next week, but in view of...

The biographer for resigning CIA Director David Petraeus is under FBI investigation for improperly trying to access his email and possibly gaining access to classified information, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Friday. Paula Broadwell is the author of Petraeus' biography, "All In." She had extensive access to Petraeus in Afghanistan and has given numerous television interviews speaking about him. Petraeus resigned Friday, citing an extramarital affair. The woman involved was not identified.