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Little Star

(17,055 posts)
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 10:36 AM Nov 2012

Petraeus Scandal: Paula Broadwell in Classified Document Probe

Source: ABC News

Paula Broadwell, the author who allegedly had an affair with former CIA Director David Petraeus, is suspected of storing significant amounts of military documents, including classified material, at her home, potentially in violation of federal law.

A source familiar with case told ABC News that Broadwell admitted to the FBI she took the documents from secure government buildings. The government demanded that they all be given back, and when federal agents descended on her North Carolina home on Monday night it was a pre-arranged meeting.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/petraeus-scandal-paula-broadwell-classified-document-probe/story?id=17714560



Wow! Broadwell admitted to the FBI she took the documents from secure government buildings.
44 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Petraeus Scandal: Paula Broadwell in Classified Document Probe (Original Post) Little Star Nov 2012 OP
South Korea says they will fire her from her position as honorary consul... barnabas63 Nov 2012 #1
That was the other bimbo frazzled Nov 2012 #4
I wondered that...I get the bimbos mixed up sometimes.... barnabas63 Nov 2012 #5
Here's how to tell which is which Andy Stanton Nov 2012 #10
And Kelley's the one kskiska Nov 2012 #15
Are we sure that only one of the twins is psychologically unstable? csziggy Nov 2012 #34
Kelly has the nicer figure? Really? WeekendWarrior Nov 2012 #20
You assume correctly Andy Stanton Nov 2012 #29
I thought they were the Kardashian sisters...... glinda Nov 2012 #40
Ugh, please no sexism. She's not admirable at all, but she's also geek tragedy Nov 2012 #13
Behavior defines who you are... barnabas63 Nov 2012 #16
I would describe Petraeus as a bimbo, too frazzled Nov 2012 #17
+1 nt barnabas63 Nov 2012 #18
I understand your logic in this post but noamnety Nov 2012 #22
That's "Himbo". nt DCKit Nov 2012 #30
bimbo? Kali Nov 2012 #36
Republican Party says they are, um, they are...they are going to go AWOL on this. Berlum Nov 2012 #12
I'm sick of seeing these people do shit like this justiceischeap Nov 2012 #2
How& why did she get into a secure government building in the first place? n/t Little Star Nov 2012 #6
Secret rendevous place??? barnabas63 Nov 2012 #8
She was a military intelligence officer with security clearance Blasphemer Nov 2012 #28
Thank you for pointing that out. Little Star Nov 2012 #31
It depends on what the documents were Marrah_G Nov 2012 #32
she had security clearance TorchTheWitch Nov 2012 #43
A whistleblower would have been arrested and her house torn apart. Lover boy's, too. leveymg Nov 2012 #7
One suspects Sherman A1 Nov 2012 #3
My suspicion meter went up when it was reported she did not even write the book. dixiegrrrrl Nov 2012 #9
Good point. I'm glad they are investigating to make sure she.. Little Star Nov 2012 #11
I'd also like to know how she initially met Petraeus. phiddle Nov 2012 #23
Slate has the answer at to how they met: dixiegrrrrl Nov 2012 #33
she wasn't/isnt a civilian Kali Nov 2012 #37
She didn't write the book? wow. glinda Nov 2012 #41
she's not an author TorchTheWitch Nov 2012 #44
Contrary to official Federal Law enforcement statements such as no laws broken is in itself a code. gordianot Nov 2012 #14
Die and join the others on that unnamed beach...n/t kickysnana Nov 2012 #19
Rommel in another system had a similar problem he got a nice State funeral. gordianot Nov 2012 #42
Wait a minute I though she was out of the Reserves so how is it she was allowed to see classified bigdarryl Nov 2012 #21
hasn't she been probed enough? olddad56 Nov 2012 #24
More descriptive headline: phiddle Nov 2012 #25
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Nov 2012 #26
So I guess we aren't conspiracy nuts after all. lalalu Nov 2012 #27
Yep. They aren't doing all those investigations because of sex. n/t Little Star Nov 2012 #35
just want to remind people Kali Nov 2012 #38
From what I'm reading those classified docs she took home were in ... Little Star Nov 2012 #39

barnabas63

(1,214 posts)
1. South Korea says they will fire her from her position as honorary consul...
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 10:40 AM
Nov 2012

The shit's hit the international fan of intrigue!

csziggy

(34,115 posts)
34. Are we sure that only one of the twins is psychologically unstable?
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 02:13 PM
Nov 2012

Jill Kelley has got to be a little nuts to think that an "honorary consul general" title would give her diplomatic immunity!

WeekendWarrior

(1,437 posts)
20. Kelly has the nicer figure? Really?
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:45 AM
Nov 2012

I assume you're basing that on the size of her breasts?

Honestly, neither one of them is all that attractive in my estimation.

 

geek tragedy

(68,868 posts)
13. Ugh, please no sexism. She's not admirable at all, but she's also
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:11 AM
Nov 2012

not a bimbo--West Point grad, masters degree, high school valedictorian, etc.

Women who commit adultery are no less intelligent than the man they sleep with.

barnabas63

(1,214 posts)
16. Behavior defines who you are...
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:31 AM
Nov 2012

Not going to get into a discussion with you, but if someone behaves in a way that fits the description...

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
17. I would describe Petraeus as a bimbo, too
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:37 AM
Nov 2012

I'm sorry, but I'm not all that impressed with Ms. Broadwell's pumped-up credentials. (As little as I am with Petraeus's self-important medal wearing and self-promotion). I'd call her more the product of ambition than intellect. It's not an earth-shattering accomplishment to be valedictorian of Century High School in Bismarck, South Dakota. (I was saludatorian of my high school, which was four times as large in population--there were more than a thousand in my graduating class--and I've never considered myself hot shit.) People get into West Point for having good grades (millions do that), usually participating in ROTC or similar interests, and getting a recommendation from a congressman. I'm not saying it's nothing, or that she isn't bright. Just that she's one of many bright young women. But is she that bright? I've listened to at least three of her interviews. She's no intellectual by any means. And her book was "ghost written" by Vernon Loeb. Why was that necessary?

Everything she's done in life seems to be the result of connections she has culled, from West Point to the Kennedy School (which is not the same as being at "Harvard" really), as much as from personal credentials.

My point in calling both of these ambitious and successful people bimbos has to do with their behavior. Both are self-promoting, have little humility, and carried on stupid, risky extra-marital affairs that could be career-ending. That last alone qualifies anyone, male or female, for the bimbo category.

 

noamnety

(20,234 posts)
22. I understand your logic in this post but
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:55 AM
Nov 2012

if you say "that was the other bimbo" the phrasing reveals a belief that there are only two bimbos involved in the scandal (the women, not the men). Hence the pointing out of sexist thought patterns. I belief most of us can see the influence of cultural values on us - so I wouldn't go into attack mode here, but pointing it out is fine as an awareness tool.

Berlum

(7,044 posts)
12. Republican Party says they are, um, they are...they are going to go AWOL on this.
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:08 AM
Nov 2012

Their plan is to um, boldly, um, to lay low in their crypt for a while and see how much shit lands on them

justiceischeap

(14,040 posts)
2. I'm sick of seeing these people do shit like this
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 10:40 AM
Nov 2012

and officials are wishy-washy about whether they'll be punished or not. If it's found that she broke the law, then she should face the consequences of breaking the law. Why should someone busted for a small amount of pot be sentenced harshly and someone handling classified info gets a slap on the wrist.

Blasphemer

(3,261 posts)
28. She was a military intelligence officer with security clearance
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 12:41 PM
Nov 2012
Prosecutors are now determining whether to charge Broadwell with a crime, and this morning the FBI and military are pouring over the material. The 40-year-old author, who wrote the biography on Gen. Petraeus "All In," is cooperating and the case, which is complicated by the fact that as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Military Reserve she had security clearance to review the documents.


I imagine it would have been very easy for her to get access to the buildings and those documents. The real question is what specific documents she was interested in and why. If they are all related to the Petraeus biography, it's much less scandalous than if she continued to acquire documents after the book was written for some other purpose.

Marrah_G

(28,581 posts)
32. It depends on what the documents were
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 01:40 PM
Nov 2012

I know that with top secret clearance it doesn't mean you can see everything, you still have to have a valid "need to know".

And like my son told me last night "need-to-know doesn't include 'because I want to" as a need.... I tried that ~grin~"

TorchTheWitch

(11,065 posts)
43. she had security clearance
Thu Nov 15, 2012, 03:15 AM
Nov 2012

She was entitled to review the documents but there MAY be a problem with her security of them as in having them in her home and on her computer. How and why she had them should be obvious - Petraeus. He hired her to be his biographer to write and speak glowingly about him and kept her glued to his side. Of course she was given access to all the info from him for that purpose - it was the entire reason she was there at all. This isn't about HER it's about PETRAEUS and his self-promoting bloated ego trumping all.


leveymg

(36,418 posts)
7. A whistleblower would have been arrested and her house torn apart. Lover boy's, too.
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 10:50 AM
Nov 2012

Last edited Wed Nov 14, 2012, 12:20 PM - Edit history (2)

They aren't treating this that way. It's who you know, not what you know, that determines how the investigation goes.

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
3. One suspects
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 10:41 AM
Nov 2012

that Ms Broadwell's life is not going to be particularly pleasant for the foreseeable future.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
9. My suspicion meter went up when it was reported she did not even write the book.
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 10:54 AM
Nov 2012

The book was written by a ghost writer.
I am wondering what kind of a financial "win" deal was set up for her.

phiddle

(789 posts)
23. I'd also like to know how she initially met Petraeus.
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 12:20 PM
Nov 2012

An official of his stature is not easy to access, yet she ended up as his biographer despite a total lack of credentials.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
33. Slate has the answer at to how they met:
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 02:09 PM
Nov 2012

Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom he had this affair, writes in her fawning biography of Petraeus that they first met when she was in graduate school at Harvard and he came to give a talk about counterinsurgency strategy. She approached him afterward and expressed interest in the subject; they exchanged cards. Soon, she decided to write a Ph.D. dissertation on his leadership style and, when he took command in Afghanistan, asked if she could come observe him in action. He agreed.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/11/david_petraeus_s_affair_with_paula_broadwell_why_did_an_accomplished_and.html

I am trying to figure out how a civilian can end up in Afghanistan with the head General, go on long morning runs, have bed and board in the General's barracks or housing or whatever.
Thought Afghanistan was considered a war zone....

TorchTheWitch

(11,065 posts)
44. she's not an author
Thu Nov 15, 2012, 03:28 AM
Nov 2012

She's a biographer, and plenty of people use ghost writers since they either aren't good enough writers or don't have the time or inclination to do the writing themselves. Plenty of books are written collaboratively. Who cares?





gordianot

(15,223 posts)
14. Contrary to official Federal Law enforcement statements such as no laws broken is in itself a code.
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:13 AM
Nov 2012

You have been caught and discredited. Everything you know and did will be told and recorded. You have just ran into a wall. You have no rights. Quietly dissapear when this dies down and if you get too much scrutiny and can manage it yourself or maybe an onset of illness, or accident just die.

gordianot

(15,223 posts)
42. Rommel in another system had a similar problem he got a nice State funeral.
Thu Nov 15, 2012, 02:41 AM
Nov 2012

In this case no hurry, nice things will be said about the generals after they are debriefed and no more autobiographies.

 

bigdarryl

(13,190 posts)
21. Wait a minute I though she was out of the Reserves so how is it she was allowed to see classified
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:47 AM
Nov 2012

Documents if she's not currently in the reserves.

 

lalalu

(1,663 posts)
27. So I guess we aren't conspiracy nuts after all.
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 12:37 PM
Nov 2012

Why hasn't this woman been arrested? This was a plot and deeper than just some horny people.

Kali

(54,990 posts)
38. just want to remind people
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 03:31 PM
Nov 2012

"classified" has a VERY WIDE meaning...just about everything is classified - these things aren't necessarily anything important whatsoever.

Little Star

(17,055 posts)
39. From what I'm reading those classified docs she took home were in ...
Wed Nov 14, 2012, 04:10 PM
Nov 2012

a secure location and should have never been taken out. The FBI is right now investigating the aspect of how she got those docs and took them home.

I also heard that when a document still has the word classified on it then it is just that, classified.

I'm not sure what you are saying. They are not doing all these investigations for nothing, imho.

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