Did Petraeus Tell Staff to Hand Over Classified Info?

Probe reviewing whether aides were told to give Broadwell the records
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2012 6:15 AM CST
Did Petraeus Tell Staff to Hand Over Classified Info?
Gen. Davis Petraeus, left, shakes hands with Paula Broadwell, co-author of his biography "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus."   (AP Photo/ISAF, File)

A new twist in the Petraeus-Broadwell saga. Federal investigators are now reviewing whether David Petraeus ordered his staff to hand his biographer-with-benefits classified information. The two have thus far maintained that Petraeus himself did not provide her with such info. But sources tell the Washington Post that Broadwell repeatedly asked for military records as she worked on her biography of Petraeus, and that his aides and other officials were instructed by him to give them to her.

Former aides were bugged by Broadwell's requests, telling the Post that they were both annoying and, at times, worrisome. And one former official says that even if Petraeus didn't give her the info, "he was allowing his name to be used," referring to Broadwell's assurance to staff members at the Kabul HQ of the International Security Assistance Force that Petraeus had given her the OK to see the classified material. But others say Broadwell may have simply taken classified info out of meetings she attended, noting that she likely wouldn't have been searched when exiting. The Post describes the material that was found in Broadwell’s possession as "sensitive but relatively benign," and mainly comprised of schedules and PowerPoint presentations marked "secret." (More Paula Broadwell stories.)

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