US Senate Investigates Petraeus Affair Fallout

Senate to open inquiry into FBI’s investigation of affair with Paula Broadwell amid questions of why Congress wasn’t told.

Former CIA chief David Petraeus was said Monday to be “devastated” by the scandal-tainted collapse of his career, as those around his former lover warned of more to “come out” regarding the affair.

“He sees this as a failure, and this is a man who has never failed at anything,” said an unnamed friend, quoted on CNN.

Boylan, who said he spoke with Petraeus over the weekend, said the former general’s wife of 38 years, Holly, is “furious.” He also said Petraeus ended the affair four months ago.

Three days after the announcement that one of the biggest names in national security had stepped down from his post in disgrace, details of how the Petraeus affair became public are just beginning to emerge.

The FBI began to investigate Petraeus after it received complaints about “harassing” anonymous emails Broadwell sent to Jill Kelley, a state department military liaison who was friends with the general. In the course of reading Broadwell’s emails, the FBI found sexually explicit correspondence with Petraeus, the New York Times first reported.

The investigation of Petraeus began over the summer but was kept secret from Congress.

One member of the Obama administration, attorney general Eric Holder, was informed of the investigation “by late summer,” the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying.

President Barack Obama reportedly found out Thursday morning – just one day before the affair was made public. Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein found out when she saw the headlines.

Feinstein has warned she will open a Senate investigation into the apparent delay in notification about an affair that “could have had an effect on national security.”

Petraeus was scheduled to appear at a closed Senate hearing this week on the fatal attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Critics of the president sought to make the administration’s early statements about the attack, which inaccurately described a spontaneous protest, an issue in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.

That criticism has now expanded to allegations that Broadwell, who got to know Petraeus while writing his biography, was privy to classified information about the Benghazi attack.