Petraeus’ Mistress Allegedly Tried To Hack Into His Email, FBI Investigating

Yesterday, four-star general David Petraeus resigned from his position as director of the CIA, citing a serious indiscretion, “After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair.”  Now it turns out that the other woman was his biographer, Paula Broadwell, and an FBI investigation had found evidence of the affair.  Further, Broadwell may have tried to hack into his email!

The Wasnington Post reports, “The affair came to light as part of an FBI investigation into a potential security breach involving Petraeus’s e-mails, according to federal law enforcement officials and a former senior intelligence official. The investigation uncovered e-mails describing an affair between Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, a former military officer and co-author of a glowing biography of Petraeus, according to two law enforcement officials who were briefed on the investigation.”  The name of the biography: All In.

It’s not just any investigation: Law enforcement officials told NBC News that Broadwell is “under FBI investigation for improperly trying to access his email and possibly gaining access to classified information… The law enforcement officials said they do not believe the FBI investigation will result in any criminal charges. They also stressed that Petraeus is not under investigation.”

ABC News’ Martha Raddatz Tweeted, “Official tells me several people who knew Petraeus got anonymous harassing emails. So investigation started. Emails then traced to Broadwell.”

Petraeus, 60, and his wife Holly met at West Point 39 years ago, when he was a cadet and she was the daughter of the school’s superintendent. Broadwell, 39, married with two children, is also a West Point graduate, and has said that she met Petraeus in 2006 at Harvard. She’s also described as a fitness buff and called herself an “adrenaline junkie.” (She challenged Jon Stewart to a push-up contest earlier this year.) The NY Times calls her a “lifelong high achiever”:

Ms. Broadwell was hardly shy about her interactions with Mr. Petraeus as she promoted her book, “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus,” in media appearances earlier this year. She had unusual access, she noted in promotional appearances, taping many of her interviews for her book while running six-minute miles with Mr. Petraeus in the thin mountain air of the Afghan capital.

Ms. Broadwell said in an interview in February that Mr. Petraeus was enjoying his new civilian life at the C.I.A., where he became director in September 2011. “It was a huge growth period for him, because he realized he didn’t have to hide behind the shield of all those medals and stripes on his arm,” she said.

President Obama supposedly learned of Petraeus’ resignation on Wednesday (after the election) and asked him to think it over.  However, as the Times says, “Intelligence agencies are often concerned about the possibility that agents who engage in such behavior could be blackmailed for information.”

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