CIA director and retired general David Petraeus has resigned over an extramarital affair. (AP)
CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus — one of America’s most revered military leaders — announced his resignation yesterday as chief spy, citing an extramarital affair, reportedly with his biographer.
The bombshell stunned the political, military and intelligence establishments.
A report by the website Slate.com identified Paula Broadwell, a co-author of a fawning biography, “All In: The Education of General David Petreaeus.”
Broadwell is under investigation by the FBI for trying to access Petraeus’ email and possibly gaining access to classified information, NBC News reported.
Broadwell describes herself as a national security analyst who resides in Charlotte, N.C.. She is married to a radiologist and has two children.
She is a West Point graduate.
The retired four-star general was a leading commander in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars following 9/11. He was credited with the counteroffensive “surge” strategy that tamed the Iraq insurgency.
Known as a straight-shooter, he was highly regarded on both sides of the political aisle. Republicans touted him as a potential presidential candidate while President Obama made him part of his cabinet.
But the decorated general’s career ends in a scandal.
Broadwell was embedded with Petraeus in Afghanistan, and two would go on five-mile jogs together, according to report.
“After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair,” Petraeus said in a letter.
“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.”
As head of the CIA, philandering is considered a breach of security and a counterintelligence threat — and potential grounds for court martial. The affair potentially exposed Petraeus and the US government to blackmail by a foreign government or enemy.
The timing of the resignation raised eyebrows because Petraeus was expected to testify at a congressional hearing about the terrorist attack at the US consultate in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. He will no longer do so.
Petraeus’ wife, Holly, also works in the Obama administration at the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as an advocate of military veterans with financial issues.
Without referring to the scandal, Obama issued a statement praising Petraeus for his “extraordinary service” to America and for making the nation “safer and stronger.’
“By any measure, he was one of the outstanding general officers of his generation, helping our military adapt to new challengers, and leading our men and women in uniform through a remarkable period of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped our nation put those wars on a path to a responsible end.”
“By any measure, through his lifetime of service David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger.”
“Going forward, my thoughts and prayers are with Dave and Holly Petraeus, who has done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Petraeus stood in “the ranks of American’s greatest military heroes.”
“His inspirational leadership and his genius were directly responsible — after years of failure — for the success of the surge in Iraq,” McCain said. “We are immensely grateful for General Petraeus’s decades of work on behalf of our nation, our military and our security.”
carl.campanile@nypost.com