14 DAY TRIAL // CIA officials announced starting an “exploratory” investigation into former Director Petraeus' affair with Paula Broadwell, which might have led to disclosure of classified information.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta dubs this a way to improve ethics standards “that keep the military well led and well disciplined,” Miami Herald reports.
Broadwell, author of the General's biography “All in,” is also an Army Reserve intelligence officer. However, following the scandal over the couple's involvement, her security clearances have been lifted, and her home was searched by FBI agents.
An unidentified senior law enforcement officer revealed that sensitive information was found on Broadwell's computer, leading way to speculation about said info being provided by the General himself.
“There are levels of clearance that she may not have had authorization for certain documents. [...] That’s what they’re really trying to sort out is classification levels, clearance levels,” the source says.
The Bureau aims “to conduct a thorough investigation to see if there was any classified information that was either compromised or mishandled. That’s something [the FBI takes] very seriously,” a spokesperson explains.
The CIA is reviewing Petraeus' activity during the 14 months he served as director, but officials claim the inquiry regards only his ethics, and have not mentioned whether or not they would be interviewing those close to the General.
“At the CIA we are constantly reviewing our performance. 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,” they state.
As we reported before, Petraeus is scheduled to appear in front of the House and Senate intelligence committees on Friday, to testify on the Benghazi, Libya attacks and what information the CIA held on the subject.