Mike Morell to testify instead of David Petraeus on Benghazi

Source: Politico

The resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus came less than a week before he was scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

A spokesman for the committee said acting CIA Director Mike Morell would testify Thursday in place of Petraeus, who resigned Friday after admitting to an extramarital affair.

Petraeus was among a host of intelligence officials who were on tap to appear at the closed hearing, including James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, and Matthew Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center. The hearing is the second to be held by the Senate panel on the attacks that killed Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three diplomatic aides.

Petraeus has won plaudits from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill, sailing through Senate confirmation on a 94-0 vote in June 2011. Top lawmakers expressed regret at Petraeus’s resignation in statements Friday.

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