sheridan addiction: CIA Inspector General launches investigation of Petraeus' conduct

Saturday, November 17, 2012

CIA Inspector General launches investigation of Petraeus' conduct

As former CIA director David Petraeus heads to Capitol Hill to testify behind closed doors about the Benghazi consulate attack, the CIA announced it is launching an investigation to determine whether he used agency resources to further his relationship with Paula Broadwell. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC News

The CIA Inspector General has launched an investigation into the conduct of former Director David Petraeus, a source tells NBC News.?

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that acting CIA Director Michael Morrell ordered the investigation to ensure there was no wrongdoing and that no agency resources were expended improperly by Petraeus.?

The CIA informed the House and Senate Intelligence Committees of the investigation on Thursday via letters from the IG.

"At the CIA we are constantly reviewing our performance,? an agency spokesperson said. ?If there are lessons to be learned from this case we'll use them to improve. But we're not getting ahead of ourselves; an investigation is exploratory and doesn't presuppose any particular outcome."

The FBI has separately investigated Petraeus in what began as a cyber-harassment case but later revealed an extramarital affair between the former CIA director and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.

That investigation remains open, focused primarily on whether Broadwell, a West Point graduate and former military intelligence officer, improperly possessed classified material on her personal computers.

Additionally, the CIA is now investigating whether Gen. David Petraeus used agency resources to further his relationship with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

The nature of the classified material found on at least one of Broadwell?s computers is not known, nor is it clear if she improperly possessed it, as she had a security clearance until it was suspended on Wednesday.

Law enforcement officials have told NBC News that Petraeus is not suspected of passing classified information to Broadwell and that no criminal charges are expected to result from the investigation.

Defense officials told NBC News on Thursday that earlier this week, the FBI came to Army officials with material discovered in Broadwell?s emails and asked, ?Is this real and is it classified?? After Army officials determined it was indeed classified material, the FBI launched a search of Broadwell?s Charlotte, N.C., home, with her consent.

On Wednesday, an Army official told NBC News that Broadwell?s security clearance and access to classified material was suspended because of an address she gave to an alumni symposium on Oct. 26 at the University of Denver, which appeared on the video-sharing site YouTube. Broadwell holds a master's degree in international study from the school.

In the address, Broadwell -- a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, though not currently on active duty, according to Pentagon records obtained by NBC News -- ?talked about security at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

"Any time that the Army has a reason to believe that an officer has mishandled classified information, there is grounds for such action," the Army official said, referencing the YouTube clip.

As their secret dissolved, Petraeus and Broadwell chatted in public

A third related investigation, by the Department of Defense Inspector General, is focused on emails exchanged by Marine Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and Jill Kelley, the Tampa, Fla., socialite who inadvertently triggered the FBI investigation by turning over anonymous harassing emails to an agent with whom she was acquainted. The FBI later determined they were sent by Broadwell, which in turn led to the discovery of her affair with Petraeus, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.