Petraeus Agrees to Testify Before Senate
Nov. 14, 2012 -- In light of calls from several senators and congressional representatives, Gen. David Petraeus has agreed to testify before the Senate Thursday, despite an FBI investigation that led to former Afghanistan general's resignation from his post as CIA-director.
The strange scandal that implicated top U.S. general and a Florida socialite and put a hold on the Senate confirmation of Gen. John Allen was thought to have robbed intelligence committees of Petraeus' testimony about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. That attack claimed the lives of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. Petraeus had personally flown to Libya on a fact-finding mission in late October.
The sex scandal has also raised questions about the separation of powers, and has caused some lawmakers to bristle that they were not told of the FBI's investigation sooner.
Brian Darling, senior government fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said some members of Congress were relying on the media for information that they should have been briefed on.
But Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told ABC News Wednesday that Petraeus was willing to come before the committee and details were being worked out.
Republican senators and representatives – and at least one top Democrat – urged the former Afghanistan general to testify, despite his resignation from his post as CIA director.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said it was "absolutely imperative" for the Senate to hear from Petraeus.
"There are so many unanswered questions at this point," Collins said outside her office Tuesday morning. "I will say that it is absolutely imperative that Gen. Petraeus come and testify. He was CIA director at the time of the attack. He visited Libya after the attack. He has a great deal of information that we need in order to understand what went wrong."
Petraeus was scheduled to testify at a Senate Intelligence hearing on Benghazi, set for 2:30 p.m. Thursday, but because of his resignation in light of the disclosure of his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell, Acting CIA Director Mike Morell was scheduled to appear in his place at the closed-door hearing.
Senate Intelligence Committee members are likely to meet casually today to discuss what to do next regarding Petraeus, according to an aide to Feinstein, but so far no additional meetings or hearings have been scheduled in regards to Petraeus' extramarital affair, nor Benghazi.
"I think we should go ahead with Mike Morell and the way it is now set up," Feinstein said on MSNBC Monday. "But I also think that the community should know that this is not sufficient. And I have no doubt now that we will need to talk with David Petraeus, and we will likely do that in closed session, but it will be done one way or the other."
