CIA Director Petraeus Resigns, Cites Extramarital Affair
Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus has resigned, citing “extremely poor judgment” for having an extramarital affair.
Petraeus told President Barack Obama of the affair on Thursday and offered to resign, a senior official told NBC News. Obama accepted his resignation in a phone call Friday afternoon.
“Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position,” Petraeus said in a letter to CIA colleagues. “After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.”
“This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation,” Petraeus said in the letter.
Mike Morrell, the deputy CIA director and a long time CIA officer, will likely be offered the job as acting director, multiple sources told NBC News. Morrell is a longtime CIA analyst, who was traveling with President George W. Bush as his briefer when terrorists struck on Sept. 11, 2001, and was later in the Situation Room with President Obama during the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, NBC News reported.
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Obama said in a statement that Petraeus “has provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades” and that his “thoughts and prayers” were with Petraeus and his wife Holly.
“By any measure, he was one of the outstanding General officers of his generation, helping our military adapt to new challenges, and leading our men and women in uniform through a remarkable period of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped our nation put those wars on a path to a responsible end,” Obama said. “As Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, he has continued to serve with characteristic intellectual rigor, dedication, and patriotism. By any measure, through his lifetime of service David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger.”
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