Senior members of Congress were alerted to Petraeus’ impending resignation by intelligence officials about six hours before the CIA announced his resignation. One congressional official who was briefed on the matter said that Petraeus had been encouraged “to get out in front of the issue" and resign, and that he agreed.
The FBI did not inform the Senate and House Intelligence Committees about the investigation before this week, according to congressional officials, who noted that by law the panels are supposed to be told about significant developments in the intelligence arena. The Senate committee plans to pursue the question of why it was not told, one official said. White House officials said they did not know about the affair until this week, when Petraeus informed them.
“After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair," Petraeus said. “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’ admission and resignation represent a remarkable fall from grace for one of the most prominent figures in America’s modern military and intelligence community. Petraeus was scheduled to testify before a closed congressional hearing next week about the attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans two months ago.
