* Agency deputy Michael Morell leads list of replacements
* Benghazi debacle had nothing to do with Petraeus’ decision
By Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) – CIA Director David Petraeus
resigned as head of the leading U.S. spy agency on Friday,
saying he had engaged in an extramarital affair and
acknowledging he “showed extremely poor judgment.”
In a letter to the CIA workforce, Petraeus, 60, said he met
with President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday and
asked “to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my
position.”
“After being married for 37 years, I showed extremely poor
judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair,” he wrote. “Such
behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of
an organization such as ours.”
Obama, who was re-elected to a second term on Tuesday, said
in a statement he had accepted Petraeus’ resignation, praising
him for his work at the Central Intelligence Agency and for
leading U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The woman with whom the former CIA director had the affair
is Paula Broadwell, according to a person familiar with the
matter. She is an author who wrote a biography of Petraeus
titled “All In.”
Attempts to reach Broadwell were unsuccessful. There was no
answer at the door of her house in the affluent Charlotte, North
Carolina, neighborhood of Dilworth.
Much about the sudden and dramatic turn of events remained
unknown Friday evening, including how long the affair had gone
on and what prompted Petraeus to resign now, just days after the
2012 presidential election.
There were indications, however, that the affair was first
uncovered a few months ago during an investigation by the FBI. A
U.S. national security source said the FBI had stumbled across
evidence of Petraeus’ affair during an apparently unrelated
investigation of news leaks.
Petraeus’ revelation of the affair appeared to end the
public career of a widely admired warrior-scholar who played a
key role in the Iraq war, led the U.S. Central Command and
commanded U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Petraeus’ name had circulated speculatively as a possible
Republican presidential nominee before Obama tapped him as CIA
chief. Before taking the CIA post, he retired as an Army general
after nearly four decades of military service.
Petraeus led the CIA for only 14 months. His sudden
departure threatened to usher in a period of instability at the
spy agency, which is grappling with a leveling off in its budget
after a decade of steady increases.
The agency is also fending off questions about its
performance before and after the attack that led to the death of
U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya.
U.S. officials insisted the CIA’s handling of the Benghazi
incident had nothing to do with Petraeus’ decision to resign.
TESTIFY ON CAPITOL HILL
Petraeus recently traveled to Libya and the Middle East, and
had been scheduled to testify about the Benghazi events next
week behind closed doors to the House and Senate intelligence
committees. Now, he will not give that testimony.
There is no indication Petraeus broke any agency rule in
connection with his admitted affair, sources familiar with the
matter said. The CIA has no broad rule banning officials from
engaging in extramarital affairs though, if discovered, liaisons
by CIA personnel with suspected foreign agents would pose
security problems for a U.S. agent.
In his statement, Obama said “I am completely confident that
the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential
mission.”
Obama, who accepted Petraeus’ resignation in a phone call
with him on Friday afternoon, said Michael Morell, the agency’s
long-time deputy director, would serve as acting CIA chief.
Morell is a leading candidate to be Petraeus’ permanent
successor, sources said. He earned Obama’s trust when he
frequently briefed the president during planning for the
operation to take down Osama bin Laden, a senior administration
official said.
“He’s respected, a straight shooter, and has great
relationships with the White House and Capitol Hill. Not to
mention over 30 years of agency experience,” said a former CIA
official, who called Morell “the odds-on favorite.”
Other possible candidates being discussed on Capitol Hill
include John Brennan, Obama’s chief counter-terrorism adviser;
Obama’s national security adviser Thomas Donilon; and former
congresswoman Jane Harman, who chaired the House intelligence
committee.
Petraeus’ resignation also adds a new vacancy on Obama’s
national security team. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
said she will leave after Obama’s first term, and Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta is widely expected to leave as well.
Petraeus’ wife, Holly, has been an advocate for U.S.
veterans and head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the
U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Last month, Petraeus and his wife appeared together at a
reception at the Canadian Embassy in Washington to celebrate the
premiere of the Ben Affleck film “Argo,” which chronicles a
successful operation in which the CIA and Canadian diplomats
smuggled a group of U.S. officials out of Tehran during the
1979-81 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.
At the Pentagon, people who worked closely with Petraeus
expressed shock at the revelations and at his resignation.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence
Committee, said in a statement: “I wish President Obama had not
accepted this resignation, but I understand and respect the
decision.”
