Friend: Petraeus began affair after taking CIA job

David Petraeus is seen with Paula Broadwell in this July 13, 2011, photo made available on the International Security Assistance Force’s Flickr website.
David Petraeus is seen with Paula Broadwell in this July 13, 2011, photo made available on the International Security Assistance Force’s Flickr website.

— Retired Gen. David Petraeus began an affair with his biographer in 2011, two months after he became CIA director, a friend and former top aide said Monday. The case has brewed an uproar in Congress over FBI investigative tactics and the fact lawmakers weren’t told soon enough about the probe.

Petraeus, who resigned last week as the nation’s head spy, and his family are said to be devastated over the affair, especially his wife Holly, who “is not exactly pleased right now,” said Steve Boylan, a friend and former Petraeus spokesman who spoke to Petraeus over the weekend.

“Furious would be an understatement,” Boylan told ABC’s Good Morning America. He said Petraeus ended the affair four months ago.

The stunning revelations about the extramarital activities of Petraeus, a retired four-star general and perhaps the nation’s most revered military figure, has sparked an outcry in Congress over the fact that the FBI did not inform lawmakers about the probe in a timely fashion.

Members of Congress said Sunday that they want to know more details about the FBI investigation that revealed the extramarital affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell. They questioned when the retired general popped up in the FBI inquiry, whether national security was compromised and why they weren’t told sooner.

“We received no advanced notice. It was like a lightning bolt,” Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, said.

Petraeus, 60, quit Friday after acknowledging the affair. He has been married 38 years to Holly Petraeus, with whom he has two adult children, including a son who led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan as an Army lieutenant.

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