E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSPresident Barack Obama answered a range of questions Wednesday at the White House in his first press conference since being re-elected. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Ex-CIA Director David Petraeus speaks to members of a Senate Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 31, 2012.
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he has seen no evidence that a scandal that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus harmed national security.
“I have no evidence at this point from what I’ve seen that classified information was disclosed that in any way would have had a negative impact on our national security,” Obama said at a White House briefing.
Petraeus, a decorated four-star general who received widespread praise for the surge strategy in Iraq, resigned as CIA director on Friday, citing an extramarital affair.
Numerous federal government officials have told NBC News that the married general had a relationship with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, 40, who authored “All In,” a book about Petraeus’ leadership philosophy.
Obama brushed aside questions about whether he felt he should have been notified sooner of the investigation of Petraeus.
“Obviously, there’s an ongoing investigation. I don’t want to comment on the specifics of the investigation, Obama said, “The FBI has its own protocols in terms of how they proceed. … I have a lot of confidence in the FBI.”
The president was not informed of the FBI investigation that revealed Petraeus’ affair until Nov. 8, one day before he accepted his resignation.
FBI investigators who looked into a series of anonymous threatening emails sent to Tampa, Fla., socialite Jill Kelley later determined they were authored by Broadwell, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.
Investigators have looked into whether Broadwell violated cyber-harassment laws or improperly possessed classified information, and Obama indicated that the investigation was “ongoing.” Law enforcement officials say they have developed no evidence indicating that Petraeus improperly provided classified information to Broadwell.
Earlier on Wednesday, NBC News confirmed from a veteran senator that Petraeus will testify Thursday about the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The Thursday hearing will be the first formal congressional inquiry into the September attack that killed U.S. Ambassador in Libya Chris Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Petraeus is also scheduled to appear at a closed hearing of the House Intelligence Committee on Friday.
As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen intervened in nasty custody battle
Republican lawmakers have criticized the administration’s evolving explanation of what triggered the Benghazi attack. Officials early on said it was a spontaneous reaction during a protest about an anti-Islamic film. Later, it was termed a planned terrorist attack.
Commenting on the scandal involving General Petraues, President Obama says he's not aware of any breaches of national security resulting from the scandal.
Questions have also been raised about whether the consulate had adequate security and whether the State Department responded appropriately to requests for more protection.
Military analyst Col. Jack Jacobs (Ret.) said the sex scandal will affect the way Petraeus is questioned by Congress, because members were kept in the dark about the FBI inquiry that led to his resignation.
Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails
“It will be interesting to see what tenor it takes and what the senators and congressmen, assuming he gets before both houses, have to say before talking to him. As you know, these hearings have a tendency to be less a question and answer period than it is an opportunity for the members to vent their spleen or talk about what they want to, so that part will be very, very interesting,” Jacobs said.
“In terms of extracting real information about what actually took place and what role the CIA had in what took place in Benghazi, I believe that investigation will determine that they had no role, that by the time the CIA could do anything, it was all over.”
NBC's Michael Brunker contributed to this report.
President Obama says he will "cooperate in any way that Congress wants" in an investigation around the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi while saying his administration did "everything we could to makes sure we protected our people."
NBC's Chuck Todd discusses the political fallout from Petraeus-Allen scandal, noting that the White House national security team is probably more worried about wobbly leadership at the CIA and in Afghanistan than political damage.
Related content from NBCNews.com:
- Emails on 'coming and goings' of military officials escalated FBI concerns
- Sen. Feinstein: 'We will need to talk to David Petraeus' about Benghazi
- Video: FBI agent search Broadwell's home
- CIA Director David Petraeus resigns, cites extramarital affair
- Video: Petraeus' stunning fall from grace
- Petraeus' biographer under FBI investigation over access to his email, officials say
- David Petraeus a battlefield 'hero' and savvy Washington insider
- Video: A ‘painful’ admission from Petraeus
Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
I despise lies but whar I despise ever more is the fact that the man took an oath to serve his country and that did not include being faithful to his wife. People´s lives should not be displayed publicly, they should and must be kept private issues for only the parties involved.
Looks like everybody got caught with their pants on the ground ? Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground ? LMFAO
I find it completely offensive that the mainstream media is all over this stupid affair and completely buried the 4 American deaths in Benghazi from a TERRORIST ATTACK, not a spontaneous response to a film. They did everything in their power to get Obummer re-elected. They should be ashamed of themselves and should be forced to start every one of their shows for an entire year with an apology the the families of the victims. This is just more proof that sex sells and the truth hurts.
You're lying. You could care less about the victims of the attack. What you find offensive is the president winning re election in spite of Faux news propaganda.
The mainstream media is going to keep blaming anyone but Obama. The Patreaus/Allen meet the Kardashian's side show is just sad. These are our Generals? Protecting the Free World - from STD's?
Sharky-
You have serious mental issues. I find it offensive that idiots like you are wasting oxygen. He won because the mainstream media refused to cover a serious issue. They were more interested in keeping Big Bird in the news than 4 DEAD AMERICANS, you moron!
sick: I read your comment file and you find everything you disagree with offensive. You're not sick of political correctness; you're just another faux news/republican radio crazy.
Sharky-
You are just a typical liberal lemming. You have zero common sense. You will always swallow the koolaid without asking questions. You are probably a huge fan of Chris Matthews and believe every word that comes out of his mouth.
WYO2 & SHARKY....Obama was only elected becaus we wanted him...and what in heck has he to do with a couple of broads looking for attention...of course the media will take the fresh news first...
He needs to actually accomplish something this go around. I voted for him in 2008 but he didn't accomplish anything he said he would in the first campaign, he is blaming anyone but taking no responsibility for his actions. We didn't expect him to be perfect - just honest and a hard worker not the divider he is.
How'd it make you feel when Mitch McConnell said his number one goal was to make Obama a 1-term President? Did you think he was being a great uniter?
no I think he was fighting a no-holds barred fight with a no-holds barred pres. He came out of a meeting with the pres. and spoke out of frustration and played into his adversaries hands. most certainly an error.
Is anybody asking why Governor Romney stopped talking about Benghazi? He was criticized for not using it as a campaign issue. Why the subsequent silence? Maybe he was given information that indicated there was no cover-up?
What about Hillary are they going to drag this out until the Holidays ? So it gets buried on the back burner. Maybe they are waiting for the General to show up a la Vince Foster ? LMFAO
The Petraeus testimony is interesting to the Faux news crazies but the real news will be from the National Enquirer. Sooner or later the Enquirer will have exclusive photos of the Ménage à Trois featuring the general and the Kelly twins in Tampa.
With Obama doing Holder in the basement on the Down Low ! LMFAO
You should all relax. There will be no great exposure of any new information. Obozo and the rest of his 'troopers' will be sure no blame is targeted towards the oval office. The general goes under the bus, and all poloiticians rejoyce that the gulty have been delt with.....
"We are a growing grassroots movement that is gaining traction everyday. We are a nonpartisan group that believes: ONE NATION, OUR PROBLEM.
That problem is making absolutely certain that the Benghazi Four's families receive justice for the loss of their loved ones. Per Charles Woods' cry for justice prior to the election we noticed little to no coverage on the Benghazi Terrorist Attacks.
Our goal is to hold the government and the media accountable to bring justice to these families.
We love our fellow Americans, we firmly believe in leaving no man behind. Our men were left behind on 09/11/12 and the media hardly touched it.
Please make no mistake if the Generals having affairs fits into the Benghazi timeline then make sure that it is included. HOWEVER, if it is not relevant then it is your duty as journalists to accurately and honestly report the truth and not create distraction as to what really happened on 09/11/12 and Americans need to know who has the blood of the innocent on their hands.
We can't help that this happened under Obama's Administration so we are not looking to just oust Obama. Our sole intent is to find justice for the families.
What we can help is to make sure that it never happens again.
Americans pleaded for their lives with someone and they were ignored and this story was ignored.
Please help us understand why and how you are going to handle it in the future.
Thank you,
www.facebook.com/justiceforbenghazi"
We already know the administration left those men out to die. Nothing will come of this hearing no matter what is told. Karma will come back around when this "President" needs some help and the people protecting him decide to just watch it unfold from a control room.
We don't know that; only faux news crazies believe their propaganda.
Sharky-
You sound like a cracked record. Keep drinking the koolaid. You are just another liberal lemming.
People, Sharky is a total idiot as witnessed by his ignorant post. Ignore him and he may go away. Occupy Wall Street will be back in the spring so you can get out of mama's basement!
Dogs80 - When will you change the channel from FOX news to something else?
I have heard that Hillary has a "scheduling conflict" and will not be present to testify. Are you kidding me? A F'ing SCHEDULING CONFLICT! Isn't it amazing that within hours of the General resigning we know practically everything about his supposed affiar, yet the facts of Bengahzi are still "not clear" WTF is wrong here, some poor scapegoat will roll for this one, but Odumbo and Billery will skate free and clear.
Hopefully Petraeus will be the honorable patriot his many peers say he is. He's now free to speak his mind as a former general and ex-CIA Director to tell the truth about the Benghazi Failure. We'll see what happens on Thursday.
Unfortunately the Senate Hearing will be a closed door session but the public and the victim's families still have the right to know about the unclassified portion of it.
My favorite part is the Commander in Chief's favorite line. I know nothing ! OK Sargent Schultz who is really the Commander in Chief ? LMFAO
The truth will NOT be told. Bribes and threats have been made and Petraeus will lie or pay the ultimate price. Obama will do anything and everything to maintain power. It wouldn't surprise me if Petraeus is found dead before he has the opportunity to testify, wouldn't be the first time Obama has had to find a scapegoat and cover his ass. Obama should be put in a military prison for the rest of his life for treason or at least impeached.
@Range: ...And, they'll probably make it look like a suicide. ...The Obama zombies will happily swallow that, just like they do the rest of their Zombie King's holy poop.
Wow, you really do need to get a grip! The man had an affair. How on earth you all are making this into a coverup (with exactly no indication/information/evidence) that leads to that conclusion is beyond me!
Why aren't your Republican reps who did know before the election supporting your assertions if they're true?
Where is there mention of the lovely Hillary Clinton in this investigation? She is a HUGE part of this fiasco. They going to find a way to give her a "by?" Once again, I feel this has far more important ramifications than Watergate. Where is the media outrage? In fact, where IS the media? Yellow journalism is all that seems to be out there.
Well, there's and arguement for universal healthcare..."lovely Hillary Clinton"? Thank goodness for Obamacare...now you'll be able to get your eyes fixed!
Hillary unfortunately says she'll be busy in Australia somewhere coincidentally during the date of the hearing. Panetta also seems to have found a way to be unavailable also. Testifying under oath is not their favorite past time.
Go figure..............
She is too busy licking rug down under ! LMFAO
Obama should have to also testify but we already know he would lie.
Obama being the brave one he is, would invoke Executive Privilege then hide under the Oval Office Desk.
It will be interesting to see if he feels inclined to be fully candid now that he doesn't have a job to loose.
Hello Everyone,
I'd like to leave a message, I write songs, lyrics with intended melodies, I've written 1,797 songs so far, along with 78 poems. I started writing poetry years after I was critically injured by an uninsured driver named Virginia Quinn, she filed $150,000.00 bankrupt the next day while I was placed in the ICU unit of Brookhaven Hospital. She never offered to help my family, or say that she was sorry.
Half of compensation went to my mother to help out financially, and half went in the bank. When I married, we put the $20,000.00 in a pizza place for partnership, Tony L. was our partner, he was put in jail for 5 years so my husband ran the place 6 days a week, Tony's brother took care of running the place on Sundays. I realized I could have been collecting SSD after that, I wanted to move to Florida, Saint Lucie West, Florida, but it was too expensive so we settled in Port Saint Lucie. Everything was done under the table in the Pizza Business, and Tony never paid us back.
We first stayed with my mother until we got settled in Port Saint Lucie, when we started living in Port Saint Lucie, my heath got much worse, Walgreens Pharmacy's located in Port Saint Lucie, Fl. never put me in their computer as they said they did, they lied and for the first 8 1/2 years they put me through hell by giving me the wrong medications, I almost died so many times due to their malpractice. I tried suing them for $1,500,000.00 , $500,000.00 for each store located in Port Saint Lucie.
Walgreens almost killed me so many times !!!!!
I started writing poetry, and now I write songs , pop songs mainly. I've written 78 poems, along with 1,797 songs, lyrics with rhythms, and melodies.
kelly1songwriter@gmail.com
...Jeepers! ...Talk about changing the subject!
Wow, you ain't kidding, a bit off topic here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like she works for the mainstream media. Diverting attention from the main topic is their specialty.
Nothing will come of it. If the Media had a picture of Hussein FU@KING a goat. His followers would blame the goat. Handouts & freebies will trump the truth to them every time. If America went down the tubes just like Greece, it will still be blamed on Bush & the lying Republicans. It will all go down in the history books after we are all gone but someday, somehow, Obama will be seen for who he really is.
He should, so FOX can shut up already.
Ambassador Chris Stevens - Gun Runner. Let us not forget he had only been an ambassador 4 months before his death.
"US Press Reveal White House's 6-Year-Long Support for Syrian Rebels"
The Bush years continue……..
@Kim: ...Nope! ...The OBAMA YEARS continue! ...Get a grip!
As Obama continues his support for the Muslim Brotherhood..............
How many more years are the liberal lemmings going to blame Bush for Obummers crap?
How many more times are you going to post "liberal lemmings" today? It's starting to get on my nerves.
Lets see how this will be covered up!!!! Funny how right before the hearings the story of a affair breaks and another head of a department resigns from the Obama administration. I dont see how an affair has anything to do about him doing his job. Unless he is another high power official who is either resigning or falling on the sword to take the responsibility off of the white house for the screw up in Benghazi!!!! Lets see if truth and justice is served for those who lost thier livies there. Lets see huh!!!!!!
Petreaus is a F&%*ing weasel. He is not fit to carry Schwarzkopf's dirty laundry ! LMFAO
...Being a weasel is one of the job requirements for joining the Obama Administration.
Kim
This has NOTHING to do with President Bush. This is all on Obama's doings. Stop blaming President Bush for Obama's failures and wrongdoings. Obama won't let his Muslim brotherhood down and will continue destroying our country.
BREAKING NEWS! MSNBC reports that Petraeus has blamed Benghazi on George Bush!!
Romney was trying to side track the investigation by talking about the Economy and Jobs ? Meanwhile back at the White House. I know Nothing ! LMFAO
Now that's funny. You know they are racking their brains and trying to come up with some lame connection. No matter what, it will never be Obummers fault.
There are over 100 articles on Fox News Network about the Benghazi Attack. There have been exactly 10 articles printed on MSN. WOW, the reporters on MSN must really be tired.
Maybe they're afraid to post a bunch of stories that they can't substantiate unlike FOX news?
The personal life of the General is of no importance to me or this country. The fact that the media will cover his marriage more than Benghazi is sickening. I want to hear the truth about those 4 Americans that died at the hand of terrorists when we were perfectly capable of adhering to the situation.