Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s (R) campaign manager “is under criminal scrutiny, suspected of stealing at least $600,000 — and possibly more than $1 million — from the Republican’s political accounts over the past several years,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
“The revelations, startling not only in the amount of missing money but also in the apparent brazenness of a campaign insider, have stunned Dewhurst’s close circle of advisers.”
The Justice Department “has decided not to charge David Petraeus’ mistress, Paula Broadwell, with cyberstalking as part of its investigation into an email scandal that led to the resignation of the CIA director and storied general,” the Washington Post reports.
Jill Kelley — a central figure in the investigation of Gen. David Petraeus — in March 2011 was awarded a prestigious medal from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the New York Post reports.
The award, the country’s second-highest honor for a civilian, was given to acknowledge Kelley’s “selfless contributions” and “willingness to host engagements” for top pols and military brass. Petraeus recommended her for the award.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds Gen. David Petraeus’ popularity “has dropped since the scandal that’s forced him from directorship of the CIA, but still more Americans see him favorably than unfavorably – a better rating than the FBI’s for its handling of the investigation that unearthed his marital infidelity.”
Key findings: 45% see Petraeus favorably overall, while 32% see him unfavorably.
The Week: Should Obama rehire Petraeus?
“Paula Broadwell, the biographer whose affair with former CIA chief David Petraeus led to his resignation, has hired a high-profile Washington communications firm, Glover Park Group, to represent her,” Reuters reports.
“Glover Park’s consultants include well-known names such as Dee Dee Myers, who served as White House press secretary during President Bill Clinton’s first term.”
Paula Broadwell, “whose extramarital affair with CIA chief David Petraeus led to his resignation, is telling friends she is devastated by the fallout,” the AP reports.
“A person close to Broadwell said Sunday she deeply regrets the damage that’s been done to her family and everyone else’s, and she is trying to repair that and move forward. The friend spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.”
“A group of friends and neighbors welcomed Broadwell, her husband, Scott, and their young sons back to their home in Charlotte, N.C., after Broadwell spent more than a week being hounded by media while staying at her brother’s home in Washington. The family friend said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from her neighbors.”
The Week: The 9 strangest details of the Petraeus affair.
Mike Allen: “Gen. David Petraeus has retained superlawyer Robert Barnett of Williams
& Connolly for advice on post-governmental issues, and to assist him
in planning his future. No book is planned. The two had met and talked a
little over the years. Petraeus is facing probes by Capitol Hill, the
Justice Department and the CIA, and now has Barnett’s 250-member firm on
his side.”
The Economist: The questionable legacy of General David Petraeus.
Five days before his re-election bid for district attorney in upstate New York, Mark Suben was adamant he had never appeared in pornographic movies. He told the Syracuse Post-Standard the allegation was part of a smear campaign by his opponent.
Said Suben: “My response to that is, it is simply not true. I did no such thing… This would cost me the election and ruin my career.”
On Friday, Suben admitted he lied, holding off a story long enough to win re-election.
What forced his hand was a Youtube video that identified him as an actor who
went by the name of Gus Thomas and performed in 12 porn movies in the
1970s.
The Week: “New twists and dime-novel characters pop up daily, but the basic story of the celebrated general’s downfall is falling into place.”
Marine Gen. John R. Allen, the four-star U.S. commander of the war in Afghanistan, exchanged thousands of “potentially inappropriate” emails with Jill Kelley, the Tampa woman who claimed to have been harassed by the ex-mistress of former CIA Director David Petraeus, Politico reports.
The FBI notified the Defense Department on Sunday of “potentially inappropriate communications” between Allen and Kelley, and turned over to Pentagon lawyers 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails exchanged by the two from 2010 to 2012.”
The Washington Post reports the developing scandal “further calls into question the personal behavior of two
of the U.S. military’s highest-ranking and most respected figures, who
apparently ignored concerns about the highly sensitive nature of their
jobs as they embraced personal relationships with younger women who
were not their wives.”
However, the New York Times says a defense official could not explain how the e-mails between Ms.
Kelley and General Allen were related to the e-mails between
Mr. Petraeus and his his biographer Paula Broadwell and e-mails between Ms. Broadwell and Ms.
Kelley.
Daily Beast: Five facts about the Petraeus affair’s mystery woman, Jill Kelley.
The FBI agent who launched the investigation that ultimately led to the resignation of CIA chief David Petraeus “was barred from taking part in the case over the summer due to superiors’ concerns that he had become personally involved in the case,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“New details about how the Federal Bureau of Investigation handled the case suggest that even as the bureau delved into Mr. Petraeus’s personal life, the agency had to address questionable conduct by one of its own–including allegedly sending shirtless photos of himself to a woman involved in the case.”
The Week looks at the three most popular conspiracy theories explaining why CIA Director David Petraeus resigned in the wake of an extramarital affair.
Michael Hastings: “Until this weekend, Petraeus had been incredibly successful in making the public think he was a man of great integrity and honor, among other things. Most of the stories written about him fall under what we hacks in the media like to call ‘a blowjob.’ Vanity Fair. The New Yorker. The New York Times. The Washington Post. Time. Newsweek. In total, all the profiles, stage-managed and controlled by the Pentagon’s multi-million dollar public relations apparatus, built up an unrealistic and superhuman myth around the general that in the end did not do Petraeus or the public any favors. Ironically, despite all the media fellating, our esteemed and sex-obsessed press somehow missed the actual blowjob.”
With David Petraeus stepping down as CIA Director over an extramarital affair, a reader points out a letter to The Ethicist that ran over the summer:
“My wife is having an affair with a government executive. His role is to manage a project whose progress is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership. (This might seem hyperbolic, but it is not an exaggeration.) I have met with him on several occasions, and he has been gracious. (I doubt if he is aware of my knowledge.) I have watched the affair intensify over the last year, and I have also benefited from his generosity. He is engaged in work that I am passionate about and is absolutely the right person for the job. I strongly feel that exposing the affair will create a major distraction that would adversely impact the success of an important effort. My issue: Should I acknowledge this affair and finally force closure? Should I suffer in silence for the next year or two for a project I feel must succeed? Should I be ‘true to my heart’ and walk away from the entire miserable situation and put the episode behind me? NAME WITHHELD “
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports a FBI investigation “uncovered e-mails describing an affair between Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, a former military officer and co-author of a glowing biography of Petraeus.”
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.”
French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler “says she plans to sue over the claim that emerged yesterday that in the early 2000s she had simultaneous affairs with both socialist Francois Hollande and right-wing politician Patrick Devedjian, while still married to her husband, Denis,” The Week reports.
The allegation is contained in an unauthorized biography of Trierweiler called La Frondeuse — The Troublemaker — by Christophe Jakubyszyn and Alix Bouilhaguet.
Florida state Rep. Mike Horner (R) ended his re-election campaign “after being named as a client in a racketeering and prostitution case,” the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Said Horner: “I deeply regret decisions I made that are causing my family unjustifiable pain and embarrassment… My family still deserves better from me, as do all my friends, supporters and constituents.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.