FBI found 300+ classified docs on CIA director Petraeus' mistress's laptop

RT
Thu, 09 Jun 2016 20:43 UTC

David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell in Afghanistan

Newly released documents reveal that during the search of former CIA director David Petraeus' home, the FBI discovered more than 300 classified documents on the personal computer of his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell.

Documents related to the home search-related FBI affidavit were unsealed Tuesday by the US District Court in Eastern Virginia. The search warrant was requested as part of a sweeping federal investigation into the relationship between Broadwell and Petraeus, a highly decorated military commander.

The probe uncovered the affair, revealed their mishandling of classified documents, and led to Petraeus' resignation as the head of the CIA. Petraeus pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling government documents and was fined $100,000.

The documents were partially redacted and were sealed for more than three years. What they showed is that both Broadwell and Petraeus misled investigators about their extensive exchange of classified material, mostly involving military and diplomatic operations during Petraeus's years as commander of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Broadwell did have security clearance to handle classified information but was not given authority to remove the information "from authorized storage facilities" or store the classified information "in unauthorized locations," according to the affidavit.

The FBI gathered two audio recordings in their search of Broadwell's home, in which the four-star Army general spoke with reporters about information that was classified as top secret.

"There was a recorded conversation between Petraeus and, inter alia, Washington Post reporters, which, based on information and belief of your affiant, occurred in or about March 2011," Special Agent Diane Wehner wrote, according to Politico, which obtained the court document.

"In the conversation," Wehner continued, "Petraeus stated, 'I would really love to be on background as a senior military officer.' Later in the recording, Petraeus discusses sensitive military campaigns and operations, some of which, on the basis of a preliminary review... is believed to contain classified information, including information at the Top Secret level."

In the second audio recording, a talk between Petraeus and a reporter, Petraeus asked that the information he provided be attributed to a "defense official familiar with Petraeus's activities," according to Wehner.

The affidavit also reveals Petraeus tried to stop the FBI investigation as soon as he heard about it and that he and his mistress tried to hide their correspondence by using prepaid cell phones or "burner" phones as well as multiple email accounts "using non-attributable names."

Petraeus was only indicted with sharing classified information with Broadwell, but the search warrant request documents show the possibility of disclosures to reporters.

Comment: Petraeus was head of the operation to supply Libyan weapons to Syria-based terrorists. He's directly responsible for much of the carnage in Syria over the past 5 years. As usual, the crimes for which he is being prosecuted are only a drop in the bucket, and the worst of them remain covered up.

Reader Comments

ancientbird66 · 2016-06-09T16:00:27Z

PERFECT !!!!

Sounds like he already has the qualifications to be Hillarys VP..........."A total disregard for the country (or the World for that matter) to satisfy his own personal agenda."

Lemuel Gulliver · 2016-06-09T18:48:09Z

HAR! HAR! HAR!

Just like Saddam Hussein, and Muammar Ghaddafi, and the Shah of Iran, and innumerable South American heads of state, and countless other "friends" of the USA, this dog-turd has discovered the truth of Henry Kissinger's pithy maxim: "It is much more dangerous to be a friend of the USA than its enemy."

So now they have thrown him under the bus. HAR! HAR! HAR!

He should thank his lucky stars. His predecessor, William Colby, was sent to go swimming in the Potomac River with a pair of concrete shoes. Petraeus was only made to pay $100,000, a pittance compared to what he probably made out of the CIA heroin operations in Afghanistan, and fired.

I wonder whose toes he stepped on? Paula Broadwell is Jewish, and might well have been a spy for Israel. In fact, if she was NOT recruited in that capacity by Tel Aviv, Israel missed a golden opportunity, which is unlikely, since they have never done that before. Not that that would be unusual - the CIA is riddled with Israeli spies, and tells Israel everything that goes in in this country. So does the NSA, which hands Israel the raw data - unedited - of every phone call, every email, and every piece of intelligence the NSA collects on everyone in this country. Including members of Congress.

Nasty people, all of them.

Mandatory Intellectomy · 2016-06-10T10:22:04Z

So how many years will he spend in jail? I didn't quite catch that part.

Lemuel Gulliver · 2016-06-10T13:37:59Z

MI,
Jail??? He'll probably run for President. If Hillary can do it, why shouldn't he?
He's got a nice smile. That alone should get him about 30 million votes.
And the lies he will tell about bringing jobs back to America will garner him another 20 million votes.
And his promises to stand up to Russia will get him another 10 million votes.
And, finally, a promise to double US aid to Israel will get him the 5 million Jewish votes.
Has a nice ring, doesn't it? "President Petraeus?"