Obama, Part II: Remodeling the cabinetry

[Phillip V]

Cute couple photo:

[CountDeMoney]

Impressive non-writing resume notwithstanding, nothing more than another power groupie with tits.

With Paula Broadwell, Gen. David Petraeus let his guard down
By Joby Warrick, Ernesto Londoño and Kimberly Kindy, Published: November 10

Gen. David H. Petraeus had just assumed his new role as U.S. Central Command chief in 2009 when he began introducing his staff to a young Harvard University researcher who was writing his biography. The woman, Paula Broadwell, then 37, had never written a book and had almost no journalistic experience. But that wasn't the only thing about her that made the general's aides nervous.

Petraeus — already the most acclaimed U.S. military commander in recent decades — had until then been extraordinarily careful in managing his public image, allowing limited access to a handful of journalists, former aides say. Yet, when it came to Broadwell, he seemed eager to throw his own rulebook out the window.

Over the next two years, the two would spend countless hours together in interviews, in Petraeus's headquarters in Tampa and, later, in Kabul, where he was sent as commander of U.S. troops. They ran together and occasionally traveled together in Petraeus's military airplane.

The general appeared to have developed a special bond with his enthusiastic but untested biographer, aides say, and Broadwell appeared willing to take full advantage of her special access.

"I found her relationship with him to be disconcerting," said a former aide to Petraeus, one of several who insisted on anonymity in order to speak candidly about his former boss. "Those who worked for him never tried to leverage our relationship with him. It seemed to a lot of us that she didn't have that filter."

Relationship exposed

The full extent of the bond was exposed Friday when Petraeus, 60, abruptly resigned as CIA director, acknowledging in a statement that he had been unfaithful to his wife of 38 years. The resignation marked a stunning career reversal for Petraeus, a storied commander whose successes in Iraq and Afghanistan had made him a hero to millions of Americans and won him a perennial mention as a possible future candidate for U.S. president.

Telephone and e-mail requests for interviews with Broadwell were not returned.

For Broadwell, who is also married, the startling turn of events has reportedly been painful as well. After writing a best-selling and highly laudatory book about Petraeus, she appears to have initiated the series of events that led to his public humiliation. Investigators say threatening e-mails from Broadwell to another woman led to the discovery of the affair between the biographer and her subject. It is an outcome made more poignant because she has been — and remains — zealous in her devotion to the general, friends and colleagues say.

"She was relentlessly pro-Petraeus," said a longtime Afghan policy expert who met Broadwell in Kabul. "There was no room for a conversation of shortcomings of the Petraeus theology. She wasn't a reporter. She struck me as an acolyte."

According to her own account, Broadwell met Petraeus in 2006, when she was a graduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Petraeus had gone to Harvard to talk about his experiences as commander of the 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and about a new counterinsurgency manual he was developing. After the presentation, Broadwell — an Army reservist and, like Petraeus, a West Point graduate — was invited to attend a dinner with the general and a few of other students.

"I introduced myself to then-Lt. Gen. Petraeus and told him about my research interests," she would write in her book, "All In: The Education of Gen. David Petraeus." She said the general handed her his business card and offered to put her in touch with other researchers working on similar issues. (Vernon Loeb, the local editor of The Washington Post, was a co-author of the book.)

"I later discovered that he was famous for this type of mentoring and networking, especially with aspiring soldiers-scholars," she wrote.

In 2008, while pursuing a doctorate, Broadwell decided to write a case study of Petraeus's leadership style. After several e-mail exchanges, Petraeus, an avid runner, invited her to discuss her project during a run along the Potomac River.

Passing the test

The two discovered a common bond: Broadwell, a high school track star who won awards for fitness at West Point, earned the general's admiration by keeping up with his grueling, six-minute-mile pace.

"I think I passed the test," she would later say, "but I didn't bother to transcribe the interview."

Soon after, Broadwell decided to turn her dissertation into a book. With the blessing of Petraeus, she made the first of about a half-dozen extended trips to Afghanistan to spend time with him and interview members of his senior staff and field commanders.

Her trips were not without controversy. Aides were stunned by the close access that Broadwell was granted — and that she occasionally flaunted. At the same time, some were unimpressed by her reporting style and thin journalistic résumé.

"Her credentials didn't add up," said a former Petraeus staff member who was interviewed a number of times by Broadwell. "I was underwhelmed. It was surprising to me that she was his official biographer."

Peter Mansoor, a former executive officer on Petraeus's staff, said he thought the general's uncharacteristic confidence in an untested writer was "strange."

"My gosh, if you are going to have someone interview everyone who has ever touched you in your life, choose someone who has written a biography or at least a history book," he said in an interview Saturday.

Other controversies

There were other controversies as well. Former aides say Broadwell's attire — usually tight shirts and pants — prompted complaints in Afghanistan, where Western-style attire can offend local sensibilities. Her form-fitting clothes made a lasting impression on longtime Afghan hands, and Petraeus once admonished her, through a staffer, to "dress down," a former aide recalled.

"She was seemingly immune to the notion of modesty in this part of the world," said a general who served in Afghanistan while Petraeus was commander there.

Officers close to Petraeus grew concerned about her posts on Facebook, which they believed sometimes divulged sensitive operational details. The posts, intended for friends back home, were often playfully written and aimed at showing off her adventures in the war zone.

Some senior officers thought Broadwell, who held a security clearance and had served as an Army intelligence officer, should have known better.

The 'unthinkable'

Despite the obvious closeness between the general and the biographer, former aides said, that the two could be having an affair seemed unthinkable, mainly because Petraeus came across as the consummate gentleman and family man.

"I spent a lot of time with him, and I never heard him say, 'Wow, she was hot,' " one former aide said. "I never recalled hearing him say anything crass or even mentioning the good looks of a person."

Broadwell impressed others who met her because of her hard work, intelligence and seemingly inexhaustible energy, traits that often are associated with Petraeus. Journalists who befriended her were struck by her idealism and passion for favorite causes, including a wounded-warrior project that she has promoted, sometimes with Petraeus's help.

"Paula is an impressive woman — high energy, smart, a classic overachiever," said Thomas E. Ricks, who came to know Broadwell while researching his new book, "The Generals," which is in part about Petraeus.

Other friends and acquaintances also described her as driven and high-achieving. Broadwell, a North Dakota native, was valedictorian and prom queen of her high school graduating class and a member of the state's all-star basketball team. She  graduated from West Point with a degree in political geography and systems engineering and finished first in her class in fitness.

After college, she served for more than a decade in the Army, attaining the rank of major before leaving the military to attend Harvard. Through her 30s, while traveling for her book and raising two children, she managed to compete in Ironman triathlons.

Competitive streak

On an official Web site for her book, which has since been taken down, Broadwell talks about her competitive streak.  "I was driven when I was younger," she said. "Driven at West Point where it was much more competitive in that women were competing with men on many levels, and I was driven in the military and at Harvard, both competitive environments."

In promoting her book this year, Broadwell went on a nationwide media tour that included an appearance on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" in January. She challenged Stewart to a push-up contest, and he agreed, saying he would donate to a charity for wounded veterans if she beat him. Her husband, Scott Broadwell, a radiologist, was brought on stage, and she beat both of them.

Broadwell, who turned 40 on Friday, lives in Charlotte, with her husband and her two sons. As the news of Petraeus's resignation made national news Friday, Broadwell and her husband were visiting friends in Virginia, celebrating her birthday with dinner at the Inn at Little Washington, one of the region's most famous and most expensive restaurants.

In the acknowledgments at the conclusion of her book, Broadwell credited her successes in part to her husband, an "amazing and supportive partner," who "played Mr. Mom for our two boys while I was in Afghanistan." Then she thanked Petraeus for his cooperation, saying his "willingness to indulge my endless questions . . . provided me with a once-in-a-lifetime education."

"I am grateful for his candor, trust and support," she wrote.

[jimmy olsen]

Um wow. I actually know Broadwell, we graduated the same year from West Point. 

Cool. How well did you know her? What was her personality like?

[OttoVonBismarck]

So our boy Eric Cantor appears to have known about this since October, and a spokesman for him said as much to CNN today. Little strange that House Majority Leader would know about this in October but not the President.

[CountDeMoney]

So our boy Eric Cantor appears to have known about this since October, and a spokesman for him said as much to CNN today. Little strange that House Majority Leader would know about this in October but not the President.

Yeah, just saw that this morning, too.  Veddy interestink. 
Sorta takes the wind out of Strix's "ZOMG OBAMA WAS WAITING TO PLAY THIS CARD" conspiracy.  But you're not House Majority Leader without your share of little birdies.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor spoke to an FBI whistle-blower two weeks ago who accused then-CIA Director David Petraeus of having an extramarital affair and potentially jeopardizing the security of classified information, according to a news report.
Cantor's chief of staff, Steve Stombres, later spoke with FBI officials to pass on the accusations from the whistle-blower, the New York Times reported on Saturday night.
Cantor's involvement in the Petraeus scandal is the first indication that anyone outside of the FBI knew Petraeus was under scrutiny for an extramarital relationship or potentially leaking classified information.
The FBI had been investigating Petraeus for several months after his alleged mistress, author Paula Broadwell, was suspected of sending "harassing" e-mails to another woman close to Petraeus.
During their probe of Broadwell's activities, FBI agents uncovered information about a reputed romantic relationship between Broadwell and Petraeus. Broadwell is the author of a flattering biography on Petraeus's extraordinary military career that was released early in 2012.
There were also concerns that Broadwell may have obtained sensitive information via her ties to Petraeus.
But the revelation of Cantor's role in the scandal - and the emergence of an FBI whistle-blower - raises dramatic new questions about how the bureau conducted what was clearly a hugely sensitive problem, both in terms of the FBI's relationship with the CIA and what it could mean for the highly esteemed Petraeus.
It also raises the stakes for the political fallout surrounding the scandal. Top CIA officials have been asked to brief members of the House Intelligence Committee next week on what happened and how the case unfolded.
"I was contacted by an F.B.I. employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain [FBI] Director Mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security," Cantor said in a statement.
Petraeus resigned on Friday after 14 months atop the CIA while admitting to an extramarital affair. The announcement stunned Washington, as lawmakers, Obama administration officials and the press scrambled to find out the reasons behind his abrupt departure.
James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, only learned about the FBI probe on Tuesday, according to news reports. Following discussions with Petraeus, Clapper told the CIA director he should resign. Petraeus then met with President Barack Obama on Thursday to inform him of that decision.
The informant was brought to Cantor's attention by Rep. David Reichert (R-Wash.). Reichert declined to comment on his role in the scandal.
A Cantor aide said Stombres spoke with FBI officials on Oct. 31 to pass on the allegations about Petraeus.
Cantor's office declined to provide more information beyond saying that the New York Times report "was accurate."
It is unclear if Cantor told Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) or other top House Republicans - including Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (Mich.) - of the allegations surrounding Petraeus.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Um wow. I actually know Broadwell, we graduated the same year from West Point. 

Cool. How well did you know her? What was her personality like?

You might think Type A but not so much at least in my interactions with her. Most of what I remember about her specifically is classes I had with her. She was one of those students who you can tell is asking a lot of questions designed to make her look engaged/smart to the instructor, so sort of a boot-licker type. But in some group discussions with her her intellect isn't that sharp, she was good at studying and asking questions the instructors liked but her knowledge of a lot of things was not as deep or broad as myself or many of the other smarter cadets.

She mentions in an article recently that she won some top ranking for fitness while a cadet, but says something like "I benefited from a scoring system that makes allowances for women, but I'd still be in the top 5 overall." That part wasn't true, I could name 10-15 guys who were a much more impressive presence in the gym or in any sort of physical training we did than her (myself included.) But yeah, of the women she was the most into the fitness stuff.

She also wasn't that attractive while at West Point, far too harsh and mannish looking with not enough body fat. I remember thinking that if a guy went to bed with her, he'd be the woman that night. But I saw her again at some alumni event (I don't think it was our class 10th reunion as I can't remember seeing her there) and she had put on a bit of fat and looked really good by that point. Mommyhood agreed with her.

[mongers]

Do you not understand the word "conjecture"?  Tell me, how is this "clear" to you?  You don't have any evidence of this, nor do you know the inner workings of the State Department (unless you have been moonlighting as a high ranking State Department official).  You keep bring up Fast and Furious, a favorite conservative talking point.  As far as I know, no criminal wrong doing discovered involving Obama in that either.

Even you must realize that the sum of Strix's contribution to this thread has consisted of badly reanimated talking points stuck together with horseshit glue. There's no way he's both sentient and not trolling.

I wouldn't go that far, but it would be nice to see some evidence to counter Raz's position.

One thing good thing has come out of this discussion, the Benghazi raid conspiracy stuff plays well with the republican right, as indicated by Strix's 'enthusiasm', so they're going to run with this 'cause celebre' and drive it into ground, maybe they'll ultimately get an impeachment vote out of it, that'll be a good use of 2 or 4 years of a house majority.

[CountDeMoney]

So...was he fucking the other one, too?  Or did?  Or Was she protecting him?  A friend of Holly's, considering her activity in "in community organizations that support military causes", perhaps?  There had to be a reason Broadwell wanted to scratch her eyes out.

Woman Who Reported Threats Is Identified

WASHINGTON --- The woman who reported to the F.B.I. that she had received threatening e-mails from a woman romantically linked to David H. Petraeus, the former director of the C.I.A., is a friend of Mr. Petraeus and his wife, Holly, who lives in Tampa, Fla., according to another close friend of the Petraeus family.

The woman, Jill Kelley, 37, is "a very well-known person of influence in the Tampa community," active in community organizations that support military causes, according to the friend. Tampa is the home of the military's Central Command, which Mr. Petraeus headed before serving in Afghanistan and then as C.I.A. director. It was during the Petraeuses' time in Tampa that they became friends with Ms. Kelley and her husband, Dr. Scott Kelley.

In a statement released Sunday night, Ms. Kelley and her husband did not address their involvement in the investigation that ultimately led to Mr. Petraeus's resignation on Friday from the C.I.A. after admitting that he had had an extramarital affair.

The Kelleys said that they had been friends with Mr. Petraeus "and his family for over five years."

"We respect his and his family's privacy, and want the same for us and our three children," the family said in a statement.

The identity of Ms. Kelley was first reported by The Associated Press.

The F.B.I. began an investigation last summer after it received a report from Ms. Kelley that she had received threatening e-mails ultimately traced to Paula Broadwell, a former member of the military who had written a biography of Mr. Petraeus. The e-mails related to Ms. Kelley's relationship with Ms. Broadwell, according to government officials.

Shortly after the F.B.I. began its investigation, its agents discovered that there had been e-mails between Mr. Petraeus and Ms. Broadwell that revealed they were having an affair.

According to the friend, Ms. Kelley and her husband visited the Petraeuses at their home in the Washington area after Mr. Petraeus served overseas and then at the C.I.A.

The FBI was investigating harassing emails sent by Petraeus biographer and girlfriend Paula Broadwell to a second woman. That probe of Broadwell's emails revealed the affair between Broadwell and Petraeus. The FBI contacted Petraeus and other intelligence officials, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asked Petraeus to resign.

A senior U.S. military official identified the second woman as Jill Kelley, 37, who lives in Tampa, Fla., and serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located.

Staffers for Petraeus said Kelley and her husband were regular guests at events he held at Central Command headquarters. A U.S. official said the coalition countries represented at Central Command gave Kelley an appreciation certificate on which she was referred to as an "honorary ambassador" to the coalition, but she has no official status and is not employed by the U.S. government.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly, said Kelley is known to drop the "honorary" part and refer to herself as an ambassador.

The military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation, said Kelley had received harassing emails from Broadwell, which led the FBI to examine her email account and eventually discover her relationship with Petraeus.

A former associate of Petraeus confirmed the target of the emails was Kelley, but said there was no affair between the two, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the retired general's private life. The associate, who has been in touch with Petraeus since his resignation, says Kelley and her husband were longtime friends of Petraeus and wife, Holly.

Attempts to reach Kelley were not immediately successful. Broadwell did not return phone calls or emails.

[CountDeMoney]

I believe I know the answer.  Jill Kelley, "social liaison", 2nd from right, standing next to Holly.

[Sheilbh]

So...was he fucking the other one, too?  Or did?  Or Was she protecting him?  A friend of Holly's, considering her activity in "in community organizations that support military causes", perhaps?  There had to be a reason Broadwell wanted to scratch her eyes out.

I think probably yes.  And there's very rarely a man who has two affairs.  It seems more common that they have one big mistake, or a whole string of them.

[CountDeMoney]

Whistleblower or no whistleblower, his ass needs to be fired from the Bureau.

An FBI agent's call to a congressional staffer had no effect on the investigation of CIA Director David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell or the timing of the disclosure to James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, a senior law enforcement official tells NBC News.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has suggested that if not for the agent's call, the matter might never have been disclosed, or at least, not when it was revealed.

But the official insists that's not the case.

"I was contacted by an FBI employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain (FBI Director Robert) Mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security," Cantor said in a statement.

Petraeus resigned on Friday from the CIA post, citing an extramarital affair.

The official says the call to Capitol Hill came from an agent who was initially involved in the investigation but who was later removed from the case because he knew an associate of one of the people being investigated.

The agent knew someone on the Hill and called that person, a Republican staffer, according to the official. But that phone call had no effect on either the course of the investigation, the involvement of the FBI's Mueller -- who was following it closely long before Cantor called him -- or the decision to notify Clapper, the official says.

"The investigation had to take a certain path, step by step. Things needed to be explored, and there were sensitivities to observe. It was overseen carefully," the official says.

This official says the agent did not seek whistle-blower protection and should not be described as a whistle-blower, as other sources have said.

[CountDeMoney]

Meanwhile, Steven Boylan, a former spokesman for Petraeus, said he was "very surprised and shocked" at the news that led to Petraeus' resignation.

"I don't know if 'let down' would be right word ... my first reaction was disbelief and then wondering if there wasn't somebody out there was spinning something to try to do some kind of harm 'cause that's happened in the past," Boylan told NBC News in an interview on Saturday.

He said he also had communications with Broadwell during the early stages of her research for her book.

"Based on my initial contact with her on email, telephone, she sounded driven, she seemed smart on the topic. Anyone probably doing their dissertation knows the rigors of research and is going to have to be dedicated in that direction," Boylan said.

He said he didn't recall Petraeus ever commenting to him about Broadwell.On Sunday, Boylan said he spoke with Petraeus again and said the general told him the affair lasted nine or 10 months and ended four months ago. As for Petraeus' wife Holly, Boylan said she's hanging tough, and to suggest that she's furious is an "understatement."

[Jaron]

He looks those Amazonian types.

[CountDeMoney]

Famous But Incompetent

Officials Say F.B.I. Knew of Petraeus Affair in the Summer
By SCOTT SHANE and CHARLIE SAVAGE

WASHINGTON — High-level officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department were notified in the late summer that F.B.I. agents had uncovered what appeared to be an extramarital affair involving the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, David H. Petraeus, government officials said Sunday.

But law enforcement officials did not notify anyone outside the F.B.I. or the Justice Department until last week because the investigation was incomplete and initial concerns about possible security breaches, which would demand more immediate action, did not appear to be justified, the officials said.

The new accounts of the events that led to Mr. Petraeus's sudden resignation on Friday shed light on the competing pressures facing F.B.I. agents who recognized the high stakes of any investigation involving the C.I.A. director but who were wary of exposing a private affair with no criminal or security implications. For the first time Sunday, the woman whose report of harassing e-mails led to the exposure of the affair was identified as Jill Kelley, 37, of Tampa, Fla.

Some members of Congress have protested the delay in being notified of the F.B.I.'s investigation of Mr. Petraeus until just after the presidential election. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and the chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that her committee would "absolutely" demand an explanation. An F.B.I. case involving the C.I.A. director "could have had an effect on national security," she said on "Fox News Sunday." "I think we should have been told."

But the bureau's history would make the privacy question especially significant; in his decades-long reign as the F.B.I.'s first director, J. Edgar Hoover sometimes directed agents to spy improperly on the sex lives of public figures and then used the resulting information to pressure or blackmail them.

Law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the investigation, defended the F.B.I.'s handling of the case. "There are a lot of sensitivities in a case like this," said a senior law enforcement official. "There were hints of possible intelligence and security issues, but they were unproven. You constantly ask yourself, 'What are the notification requirements? What are the privacy issues?' "

A close friend of the Petraeus family said Sunday that the intimate relationship between Mr. Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, began after he retired from the military last year and about two months after he started as C.I.A. director. It ended about four months ago, said the friend, who did not want to be identified while discussing personal matters. In a letter to the C.I.A. work force on Friday, Mr. Petraeus acknowledged having the affair. Ms. Broadwell has not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Under military regulations, adultery can be a crime. At the C.I.A., it can be a security issue, since it can make an intelligence officer vulnerable to blackmail, but it is not a crime.

On Sunday, the same Petraeus family friend confirmed the identity of Ms. Kelley, whose complaint to the F.B.I. about "harassing" e-mails, eventually traced to Ms. Broadwell, set the initial investigation in motion several months ago. Ms. Kelley and her husband became friends with Mr. Petraeus and his wife, Holly, when Mr. Petraeus was head of the military's Central Command, which has its headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Ms. Kelley, who volunteers to help injured service members and military families at MacDill, has been photographed with the Petraeuses at social events in Tampa.

"We and our family have been friends with General Petraeus and his family for over five years," Ms. Kelley and her husband, Scott Kelley, said in a statement released Sunday. "We respect his and his family's privacy, and want the same for us and our three children."

The statement did not acknowledge that it was Ms. Kelley who received the e-mails, which was first reported by The Associated Press.

The involvement of the F.B.I., according to government officials, began when Ms. Kelley, alarmed by about half a dozen anonymous e-mails accusing her of inappropriate flirtatious behavior with Mr. Petraeus, complained to an F.B.I. agent who is also a personal friend. That agent, who has not been identified, helped get a preliminary inquiry started. Agents working with federal prosecutors in a local United States attorney's office began trying to figure out whether the e-mails constituted criminal cyber-stalking.

Because the sender's account had been registered anonymously, investigators had to use forensic techniques — including a check of what other e-mail accounts had been accessed from the same computer address — to identify who was writing the e-mails.

Eventually they identified Ms. Broadwell as a prime suspect and obtained access to her regular e-mail account. In its in-box, they discovered intimate and sexually explicit e-mails from another account that also was not immediately identifiable. Investigators eventually ascertained that it belonged to Mr. Petraeus and studied the possibility that someone had hacked into Mr. Petraeus's account or was posing as him to send the explicit messages.

Eventually they determined that Mr. Petraeus had indeed sent the messages to Ms. Broadwell and concluded that the two had had an affair. Then they turned their scrutiny on him, examining whether he knew about or was involved in sending the harassing e-mails to Ms. Kelley.

It was at that point — sometime in the late summer — that lower-level Justice Department officials notified supervisors that the case had become more complicated, and the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section began working on the investigation as well.

It remains unclear whether the F.B.I. also gained access to Mr. Petraeus's personal e-mail account, or if it relied only on e-mails discovered in Ms. Broadwell's in-box. It also remains uncertain exactly when the information about Mr. Petraeus reached Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director. Both men have declined to comment.

But under the Attorney General Guidelines that govern domestic law enforcement officials, agents must notify F.B.I. headquarters and the Department of Justice whenever they are looking at a "sensitive investigative matter," which includes cases "involving the activities of a domestic public official."

F.B.I. agents interviewed Ms. Broadwell for the first time the week of Oct. 21, and she acknowledged the affair, a government official briefed on the matter said. She also voluntarily gave the agency her computer. In a search, the agents discovered several classified documents, which raised the additional question of whether Mr. Petraeus had given them to her. She said that he had not. Agents interviewed Mr. Petraeus the following week. He also admitted to the affair but said he had not given any classified documents to her. The agents then interviewed Ms. Broadwell again on Friday, Nov. 2, the official said.

Based on that record, law enforcement officials decided there was no evidence that Mr. Petraeus had committed any crime and tentatively ruled out charges coming out of the investigation, the official said. Because the facts had now been settled, the agency notified James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, about 5 p.m. on the following Tuesday — Election Day.

Meanwhile, the F.B.I. agent who had helped get a preliminary inquiry started, and learned of Mr. Petraeus's affair and the initial concerns about security breaches, became frustrated. Apparently unaware that those concerns were largely resolved, the agent alerted the office of Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, the House majority leader, about the inquiry in late October. Mr. Cantor passed on the agent's concerns to Mr. Mueller.

Officials said Sunday that the timing of the notifications had nothing to do with the election, noting that there was no obvious political advantage for either President Obama or Mitt Romney in the news that the C.I.A. director had had an affair; Mr. Petraeus is highly regarded by both Republicans and Democrats. They also said that Mr. Cantor's call to the F.B.I. on Oct. 31 had not accelerated or otherwise influenced the investigation, which they said had never stalled.

F.B.I. and Justice Department officials knew their handling of the case would ultimately receive immense scrutiny and took significant time to determine whom they were legally required to inform, according to a senior law enforcement official.

"This was very thought-through," the official said.

The law requires that the Senate and House intelligence committees be kept "fully and currently informed" of intelligence activities, which conceivably might cover an investigation into a possible compromise of the C.I.A. director's e-mail account and the possession of classified documents by Ms. Broadwell.

But Justice Department and F.B.I. rules, designed to protect the integrity of investigations and the privacy of people who come under scrutiny, say that investigators should not share potentially damaging information about unproved allegations or private matters unless it is critical for the investigation.

Glenn A. Fine, the inspector general for the Justice Department from 2000 to 2011, said it appeared that the F.B.I. was "legitimately following a lead" about possible criminal wrongdoing or a security breach.

"Some have said the F.B.I. was out to get the C.I.A.," said Mr. Fine, who is now a partner at the law firm Dechert LLP in Washington. "That might have been true 20 years ago. But it is hard to believe that is going on today."

John Prados, a historian and an author on intelligence and its abuses, said the case "posed several dilemmas for the F.B.I." that would have prompted agents and their bosses to proceed gingerly.

"Petraeus is a very important person, so they would want to be crystal clear on exactly what happened and what the implications were," Mr. Prados said. "There was probably a sense that it had to be taken to top bureau officials. And bureau officials probably thought they had better tell the White House and Congress and the D.N.I., or they might get in trouble later," he added, referring to the director of national intelligence.

But if the security issues were resolved and no crime had been committed, Mr. Prados said, there was no justification for informing Congress or other agencies that Mr. Petraeus had had an affair.

"In my view, it should never have been briefed outside the bureau," he said.

[Legbiter]

Wait, so the bitch he was banging had access to his computer and email account, and was using it to engage in a catfight with another bitch?