Paula Broadwell, Security Clearance Suspended Following Petraeus Affair
Paula Broadwell, biographer to former CIA director David Petraeus, lost her security clearance after publicly speaking about government security, an Army official said Wednesday.
The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said Broadwell's clearance and access to classified material was suspended because of an address she gave at an alumni symposium on Oct. 26, according to NBC News. In the speech at the University of Denver, Broadwell talked about security at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans and Ambassador Christopher Stevens were killed in an attack. Video of her speech was later posted on Youtube.
"Any time that the Army has a reason to believe that an officer has mishandled classified information, there is grounds for such action," the official said, referring to the YouTube clip.
Broadwell received her Master's degree in international study from the University of Denver.
The FBI are in the process of an investigation into a reported extramarital affair between Broadwell and Petraeus. After pouring over Broadwell's emails in connection to harassing messages received by Tampa, Fla., socialite Jill Kelley, authorities found evidence of an affair between Broadwell and Petraeus. Both are married with two children.
Broadwell began her work with the former CIA director as a doctoral dissertation at Harvard University. She then decided to turn her work into a book - "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus."
Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday after acknowledging the affair with Broadwell. He told friends the affair began in August of 2011 after he left the army, according to ABC News.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice states that adultery is punishable under Article 134, with "a maximum punishment of dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for one year," according to The Huffington Post.
