Petraeus Steps Down as CIA Chief
Posted at 3:11 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2012
The first key official in the Obama administration to leave his post is CIA Director David Petraeus.
The Daily Mail reports that he “stepped down to deal with the ‘personal and professional issues’ surrounding his relationship with a woman who is not his wife.”
Sources tell NBC News says that “Mike Morrell, the deputy CIA director and a longtime CIA officer, would likely be offered the job as acting director but with the understanding that he may be elevated to the job permanently at some point.”
Tom Ricks has a behind the scenes look: “I am told that President Obama tried to talk Petraeus out of resigning, but Petraeus took the samurai route and insisted that he had done a dishonorable thing and now had to try to balance it by doing the honorable thing and stepping down as CIA director.”
Slate reports the woman with whom Petraeus was having an affair is Paula Broadwell, the author of a recent book about him, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
