President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has not seen assessments
that indicate classified information disclosed in the sex scandal
involving CIA director David Petraeus compromised United States
security.
“I have no evidence at this point, from what I’ve seen, that classified information was disclosed that in any way would have had a negative impact on our national security,” Obama said in his first press conference since the Nov. 6 election and his first in eight months.
The president praised Petraeus for his “extraordinary career.” The CIA director resigned suddenly Friday after a FBI cyber stalking investigation uncovered a covert extramarital affair with former Army officer Paula Broadwell.
Obama said that Petraeus resigned because he believed his behavior “did not meet the standards that he felt were necessary as the director of CIA with respect to this personal matter that he is now dealing with his family and with his wife.”
“And it’s on that basis that he tendered his resignation, and it’s on that basis that I accepted it,” Obama said.
Asked why the affair and the FBI probe were kept secret until after the election, Obama referred questions to the FBI and its “protocols” for “what started off as a potential criminal investigation.”
The president said one of the challenges is that “we’re not supposed to meddle in, you know, criminal investigations, and that’s been our practice.”
Obama said he would withhold judgment on the FBI notification process that kept the probe secret. But he said he has confidence in the FBI, which has come under fire for its handling of the cyber stalking probe that forced the resignation of his CIA director and derailed the nomination of the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, to be NATO commander.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/obama-go-after-me/
“I have no evidence at this point, from what I’ve seen, that classified information was disclosed that in any way would have had a negative impact on our national security,” Obama said in his first press conference since the Nov. 6 election and his first in eight months.
The president praised Petraeus for his “extraordinary career.” The CIA director resigned suddenly Friday after a FBI cyber stalking investigation uncovered a covert extramarital affair with former Army officer Paula Broadwell.
Obama said that Petraeus resigned because he believed his behavior “did not meet the standards that he felt were necessary as the director of CIA with respect to this personal matter that he is now dealing with his family and with his wife.”
“And it’s on that basis that he tendered his resignation, and it’s on that basis that I accepted it,” Obama said.
Asked why the affair and the FBI probe were kept secret until after the election, Obama referred questions to the FBI and its “protocols” for “what started off as a potential criminal investigation.”
The president said one of the challenges is that “we’re not supposed to meddle in, you know, criminal investigations, and that’s been our practice.”
Obama said he would withhold judgment on the FBI notification process that kept the probe secret. But he said he has confidence in the FBI, which has come under fire for its handling of the cyber stalking probe that forced the resignation of his CIA director and derailed the nomination of the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, to be NATO commander.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/obama-go-after-me/
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