Retired Gen. David Petraeus stepped down today as head of the Central Intelligence Agency after admitting to an extra-marital affair.
Petraeus said, “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.”
The resignation comes 14 months after Petraeus took the job, days after the presidential election and days before he was set to testify before Congress about an attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya that left four Americans dead.
A senior administration official said, “Petraeus met with President Obama on Thursday. He admitted to having an extramarital affair when he asked to resign. In a phone call Friday afternoon, President Obama formally accepted Petraeus’ resignation”.
President Obama said, in a statement, “I am ‘completely confident’ that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission now under the leadership of Acting Director Michael Morrell”.
The president concluded by saying, “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 in this difficult time.”
