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CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus has resigned from his post citing an extramarital affair.
According to CNN, he submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama on Thursday and the letter was accepted on Friday.
"After being married for more than 37 years I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair," Petraeus wrote in a letter to President Obama. "Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as a leader of an organization such as ours."
The CIA and the Obama administration have been under intense scrutiny for weeks following the attacks on the Libyan embassy in Benghazi. During the attacks, four Americans were killed including Ambassador Chris Stevens. For weeks, the White House pushed a narrative of the events that framed them as a result of a spontaneous protest that erupted in response to an anti-Islam YouTube video. Many questioned this response, and recent evidence has shown the attack to be an act of terrorism and that the CIA played a key role in the response.
TheBlaze has been pursuing the Libyan story since it first broke, both on it's television programming and a series of articles on TheBlaze.com under the banner of "Libya: The Truth".
While Petraeus has only cited an extramarital affair as the reason for leaving the CIA, some are already noting the suspicious timing of the event. Petraeus was scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee next week on the Libyan scandal and the CIA's role. The resignation also came three days after President Obama won his campaign for re-election.
Former CIA operative Bob Baer told CNN that while people do step down from the agency for affairs, they are rarely given as the official reason.
"I think there's a big story behind it," Baer said.
National Security expert Buck Sexton told TheBlaze, "“While the military officially condemns adultery under its regulations, I’m not aware of a similar prohibition in the intelligence community,” Sexton said. “One could argue an affair creates a threat of blackmail, but the Petraeus resignation, coming so soon after Obama’s re-election, seems to leave many unanswered questions. Something is not right here.”
On October 26th, Glenn went on Pat & Stu and said that he predicts that David Petraeus would take the blame on Libya.
"Who have they tried to sell down the river every step of the way? The intelligence," Glenn said. "You watch. Petraeus is going to be the fall guy. They're going to have him step down. They're going to point all fingers to him."
WATCH:
Read Petraeus' resignation letter below:
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. This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation.As I depart Langley, I want you to know that it has been the greatest of privileges to have served with you, the officers of our Nation’s Silent Service, a work force that is truly exceptional in every regard. Indeed, you did extraordinary work on a host of critical missions during my time as director, and I am deeply grateful to you for that.Teddy Roosevelt once observed that life’s greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing. I will always treasure my opportunity to have done that with you and I will always regret the circumstances that brought that work with you to an end.
Thank you for your extraordinary service to our country, and best wishes for continued success in the important endeavors that lie ahead for our country and our Agency.
With admiration and appreciation,
David H. Petraeus
