David Petraeus Appears For Benghazi Questioning At Capitol Hill
Former CIA Director David Petraeus and his wife appeared at the Capitol Friday, where the government official answered questions regarding the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
The hearings on Friday addressed the September attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, which resulted in Republicans claiming that the White House "misled the public on what led to the violence," according to The Associated Press. Petraeus will appear before the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, providing details about the U.S. response to the attack.
"Director Petraeus went to Tripoli and interviewed many of the people involved," said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif). Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, added, "I'd like to get his sense of why it took as long as it did to get more accurate assessments of what took place in Benghazi."
Petraeus, a retired Army general who once commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is expected to defend the CIA's actions during the attack that killed Stevens and other Americans, according to ABC News. His appearance on Capitol Hill comes one week after he resigned as CIA director, after news surfaced of his extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. Feinstein stated that Friday's hearing with Petraeus will only focus on the Benghazi attack.
"The purpose of this hearing is Benghazi," Feinstein said. "We're not going into the FBI investigation or the inspector general or anything else. This is Benghazi."
Petraeus stepped down as CIA director on Nov. 9 after being forthcoming about his affair with Broadwell. The two got close as she did research for her book "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus." Petraeus told friends the affair began in August of 2011 after he left the army.
Broadwell is married and has two children and Petraeus and his wife Holly have been married for 38 years and also have two adult children.
