Washington: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday said that he has seen no evidence that national security was threatened by the widening sex scandal that ensnared his former CIA director and top military commander in Afghanistan.
In his first post election news conference, Obama also reaffirmed his belief that the US can't afford to continue tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, a key sticking point in negotiations with Republicans over the impending "fiscal cliff."
The tangled email scandal that cost David Petraeus his CIA career and led to an investigation of Gen John Allen has disrupted Obama's plans to keep a narrow focus on the economy coming out of last week's election. And it has overshadowed his efforts to build support behind his re-election pledge to make the wealthy pay more in taxes in order to reduce the federal deficit. Obama said he hoped the scandal would be a "single side note" in Petraeus' otherwise extraordinary career.
Petraeus resigned as head of the CIA last Friday because of an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, who US officials say sent harassing emails to a woman she viewed as a rival for the former general's affection. The investigation revealed that the woman, Jill Kelley, also exchanged sometimes-flirtatious messages with Allen....
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12:26 AM, Nov 15, 2012
Washington: The scandal involving former CIA Director David Petraeus widened on Tuesday as US defense officials said they were looking into "flirtatious" e-mails between General John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan, and a woman at the center of the affair. Defense Department officials said they were sifting through 30,000 pages of email and other communications between Allen and Jill Kelley, a Florida socialite whose complaints about harassing messages...
07:54 AM, Nov 14, 2012
Perth: In a new twist to the Gen David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said on Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, is under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an extramarital affair. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said in a written statement issued to reporters aboard...
06:17 PM, Nov 13, 2012
Washington: New details emerged on Sunday about the extra-marital affair that abruptly ended the career of CIA chief David Petraeus, including the identity of a second woman whose complaints about harassing emails from the woman with whom he had the relationship, Paula Broadwell, prompted an FBI investigation. A person familiar with the investigation identified the second woman as Jill Kelley, a long-time friend of the Petraeus family. Kelley went to...
08:40 PM, Nov 12, 2012
CIA Director David Petraeus resigned abruptly following reports of an extra-marital affair with a journalist. In a letter to the CIA, Petraeus acknowledged poor judgement in carrying on the affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell while in Afghanistan. He admitted it was unacceptable behaviour. For the director of the CIA, being engaged in an extramarital affair is considered a serious breach of security and a counterintelligence threat. If a foreign...
12:44 PM, Nov 10, 2012
Washington: David Petraeus was a star on the battlefield, commanding the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but was undone by "poor judgment" in engaging in an extramarital affair that led to his downfall as CIA director. Just two days after his 60th birthday, Petraeus stepped down from the spy agency where he had held the top office since September 6, 2011. "After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely...
11:49 AM, Nov 10, 2012
