USA/FILE: Video of Paula Broadwell whose alleged affair with CIA director David Petraeus, led to his resignation.

Record ID: 559514

  • Title: USA/FILE: Video of Paula Broadwell whose alleged affair with CIA director David Petraeus, led to his resignation.
  • Date: 11th November 2012
  • Summary: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - AUGUST 31, 2011) (REUTERS) RETIRING GENERAL PETRAEUS GIVING HIS WIFE A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS, THEN SMILING AND GIVING CROWD A THUMBS UP SIGN
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9M0JX0ZPVAYBUQ28TDPZT4HO9
  • Story Text: An FBI investigation into a complaint about Paula Broadwell, who authored a biography of General David Petraeus, turned up emails indicative of an extramarital affair between the writer and the


    Despite an adultery scandal that ended David Petraeus' tenure as CIA chief, the general may be called to testify in a Senate inquiry into the killing of four Americans at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Senator Dianne Feinstein said Sunday (November 11).
    Petraeus' resignation shocked Washington. It reportedly took place after An FBI investigation into a complaint about Paula Broadwell, who authored a biography of General David Petraeus, turned up emails indicative of an extramarital affair between the writer and the general.
    When Paula Broadwell first met David Petraeus in 2006, she was a soldier-turned-graduate student at Harvard University. The acclaimed U.S. Army general gave her his card and offered to help her with her studies.
    Broadwell soon began trading emails with the general, and four years later she was in Afghanistan turning a dissertation about his leadership into a book published this year entitled "All In." Interviews for the book often took place on endurance-testing runs together, she would later say.
    Broadwell promoted the book on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" TV program in January.
    That relationship is now at the center of a scandal that has not only ended Petraeus' short tenure as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency but also badly tarnished the reputation of a revered military leader.
    And it has raised awkward questions about whether the White House had any inkling of the problem before the Nov. 6 presidential election.
    Until now, the 40-year-old wife and mother of two young children had appeared to excel at juggling scholarly pursuits, family life, a military career, triathlons, charity work and even demonstrations for a machine gun manufacturer.
    Broadwell has not returned emails or calls. A 40th birthday party for her had been scheduled at her brother and sister-in-law's home in Washington, D.C. on Saturday (November 11), but invitees received an e-mail saying it had been canceled.
    Broadwell grew up in North Dakota, where in high school she was valedictorian, student council president, homecoming queen and an all-state basketball player, according to a biography on the Century High School web site.
    She went on to the U.S Military Academy at West Point, where she graduated with academic, fitness and leadership honors, according to a biography promoting a speech to the World Affairs Council of Charlotte. She has held positions in the U.S. intelligence community, U.S. Special Operations Command and FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces, according to the bio.
    Later, she would add degrees from the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is also a PhD candidate at King's College, London.
    In August, Broadwell was promoted to lieutenant colonel, according to the Army.
    About three years ago, Broadwell settled in Charlotte with her husband, Scott, who is a radiologist in a Charlotte medical group. Their home is valued at $908,500, according to county property records. Over the years, the family has alternated moves based on each other's career opportunities.
    In her book's acknowledgments, Broadwell says her husband played "Mr. Mom" for her two boys while she was in Afghanistan and Washington "and shielded them from the concerns about their adventure-seeking mother's travels in a third-world country."
    Her husband "showed admirable tolerance for my absence and the many late nights and early mornings at the computer; I am grateful to have such an amazing and supportive partner," she added. The book is dedicated to "my three favorite troopers" - her husband and two boys - and "to those who serve."
    The acknowledgments gives "special thanks" to Petraeus' wife, Holly.
    In the past year, Broadwell has been busy promoting her book with TV appearances and speeches. Written with Washington Post editor Vernon Loeb, the book received positive reviews, with author Doris Kearns Goodwin calling it "majestic."
    In the preface, Broadwell writes that history has yet to fully judge Petraeus' service in Iraq and Afghanistan but "there is no denying that he achieved a great deal during his thirty-seven-year Army career, not the least of which was regaining the strategic initiative in both wars that followed September 11, 2001."
    While noting his critics fault him for "ambition and self-promotion," she writes that his "energy, optimism and will to win stand out more for me." In the acknowledgments, she thanks Petraeus for a "once-in-a-lifetime" education as well as "his candor, trust and support."
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