Benghazi Cover Up: Details on Tomorrow’s Hearings, Petraeus Offers Testimony, Eric Holder and FBI Face Questions
House Intelligence Committee: Ranking Democrat Rep. C.A. Ruppersberger (Left) Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich) (Right)
Photo from WTAX News
Libyan guard at Benghazi consulate fixes
note from Libyans against the attack,
Sept. 18, REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih
Four murdered American heroes, 3 investigative hearings, 2 disgraced generals, 2 questionable women, 2 sex scandals, and 1 cover up. Here is where we are at in a nutshell:
Attorney General Holder and FBI director Robert Mueller are facing serious new questions and inquiry over what they knew and why they failed to share that information when it was critical to do so.
In addition, the news continues to break over the sexual aspect of the scandals surrounding General Petraeus and General Allen, and threatens to overshadow three very important events tomorrow. Those three events are three hearings that the American people should be focused on. These three hearings will be convened tomorrow, on Thursday, November the 15th, 2012.
Also today, the news is currently breaking that Petraeus will soon voluntarily offer his testimony to members of the House and Senate.
The following is an update on all of the above, including what hearings are to be held, who will be holding them, and what we might expect.
Benghazi Cover Up: Pentagon’s Latest Timeline Conflicts with CIA, Broadwell May Have Leaked Reason For Attack, Petraeus’ Prior Testimony Called into Question
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is a powerful man with a little bump in the road that he cannot ignore. Panetta cannot ignore the inconsistencies along the rocky road of the Benghazi cover up. No matter how hard he tries to overcome it, that annoying little bump in the road just keeps popping up and will not go away.
Time is an exact science. It may be 9:00 in one region and 12:00 in another region, but it is still the same time. No one has ever seen time in person, but time may be a witness in the upcoming hearings on Benghazi. The new timeline provided by the Pentagon has been analysed by journalists, and it may not make muster. There appear to be some discrepancies that may or may not be resolved by the pending investigation.
Meanwhile, it appears Paula Broadwell may have inadvertently dropped a bombshell on General Petraeus. As the updates continue to come in, it appears statements made by Broadwell may indicate a leak of classified information. And legislators insist that at some point, General Petraeus must testify. Other legislators call his previous testimony into question.
Benghazi Cover Up: New Timeline Given By Pentagon, Probe into Possible Leaks, General Petraeus Resigns from CIA
General David Petraeus
This is a rushed update on two major developments.
The news broke today that the Director of National Intelligence has initiated a probe to discover possible leaks that lead to the media’s knowledge of the events in Benghazi.
Also today, The Pentagon has released a new timeline of events.
For the latest video from Fox today reporting on the probe by National Intelligence, click here to see a video report from Catherine Herridge. She also reports on classified documents which are being released to legislators today, as well as the pending hearings.
As I write this, the news is now breaking that CIA Director General David Petraeus has submitted his resignation to Obama in a closed door meeting. It is reported he resigned for personal reasons.
The only reason cited so far is an extra marital affair. General Petraeus was scheduled to testify in the upcoming hearings on Benghazi next week. Some speculate his current resignation may enable him to speak “freely” at the upcoming hearings. General Petraeus has stated his decision had nothing to do with the current investigation. The reports are just coming out, but it is now being reported that he will not be testifying as scheduled in the Senate hearings next week.
General Petraeus is the second high ranking official to raise questions over a sudden and unexpected resignation in the wake of Benghazi. Many also speculate on the sudden and unlikely early retirement of General Carter Ham, Combatant Commander of Africa Command.
UPDATE, 11/11/2012
It has been learned that the woman involved in an extra marital affair with General Petraeus was Paula Broadwell, his biographer whom he met when he came to speak at Harvard University. It was reported yesterday that the investigation that led to the resignation of General Petraeus began months prior and was initiated by the FBI when an unknown third person complained that they had received emails from Broadwell.
Here is an excerpt from yesterday’s report:
The agency was alerted that biographer Paula Broadwell, with whom Petraeus had the affair, may have had access to his personal email account….The FBI investigation began when someone reported suspicious emails allegedly sent from Broadwell. The agency then determined that she allegedly had emailed a number of government employees. The FBI was at one point trying to determine whether any of the employees were being stalked, sources told Fox News…..The FBI investigation started with a complaint several months ago about “harassing” e-mails from Broadwell to an unidentified third person, a government official briefed on the case told The New York Times on Saturday.
New details came out on the story today:
General David Petraeus
A second name emerged Sunday in the FBI investigation into CIA Director David Petraeus’ email correspondence that exposed an extramarital affair with a female biographer, then his resignation last week.
Sources tell Fox News the women is 37-year-old Jill Kelley, a close friend of the Petraeus family……Kelley alerted the FBI about the emails that appeared to be an attempt to blackmail Petraeus, which started the investigation, said the sources, who are close friends of the Petraeuses.
In addition, the threatening emails might not have come from biographer Paula Broadwell, as widely reported…..
Jill Kelly is not involved with Petraeus, but is a close friend of the family. According to the same report, an agency whistle-blower is involved:
The first knowledge of the affair outside the FBI came from an agency whistle-blower who contacted a Capitol Hill Republican who told House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., got a tip from a friend who knew the whistle-blower, as reported by The New York Times…..Sources tell Fox News that Reichert talked to the whistle-blower, then referred him to Cantor. The whistle-blower talked to the majority leader’s office, then to Cantor directly. The whistle-blower — who purportedly was concerned about a possible national security breach — was then put in touch with FBI Director Robert Mueller.
It also appears that the relationship between Petreaus and Broadwell was an open secret among those who knew the Petreaus family. Read full report, here.
Meanwhile, in another report today, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Diane Feinstein, (D-CA), said today that the Benghazi investigations will also inquire into the scandal surrounding General Petraeus, “including why the FBI failed to notify the committee about the extramarital affair that led to the director’s resignation”.
So apparently now the FBI has to answer some questions as well. She also stated that Petraeus is no longer scheduled to testify this week, but may be called to capitol hill in future meetings.
According to Feinstein:
“…other major questions the committee will investigate include whether the United States adequately processed previous threats and attacks to increase security around the U.S. Consulate and nearby CIA annex in Benghazi.
“Changes were made, but the changes were not adequate,” Feinstein told Fox.
UPDATE 11/12/2012
Fox is now reporting that law enforcement has confirmed the threatening emails were coming from Broadwell. The story is here. Also today, new updates came out on several issues. One update finds the Pentagon timeline above appears to conflict with CIA witnesses. Another update also indicates Broadwell may have leaked classified information that may point to the reason for the attack on the consulate. Legislators are also questioning former testimony from General Petraeus. For more information on the latest with updated links and videos, please click here.
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