Petraeus Resigns Over Extramarital Affair

CIA Director David Petraeus resigned abruptly, citing an extramarital affair he had, NBC News reports.

From a Petraeus statement: “Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as D/CIA. After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.”

Wonk Wire has more details, including the identity of the woman.

Josh Marshall: “Like most people I find this news pretty flabbergasting. I will say
there’s some important context: extra-marital affairs in CIA, however
common they may be, are always a big, big deal since they invite
potential blackmail. So whatever else is going on here it’s
significantly different than an ordinary politician having an affair.”