[Hoot Gibson]

The foreign press is all over this story. Why was our own media not on top of it before the election? Now that the media has helped Obama win another election, will they remain in his bed for another four years, or will they be shamed into doing their job?

I find it extremely unlikely that Obama did not know about Petraeus's affair before he was appointed to head the CIA. If he was not aware of it, then the FBI background check done on Petraeus was incredibly and uncharacteristically poorly done. I am also skeptical that infidelity alone would disqualify Petraeus from serving in an administration who openly allowed illegal foreign donations to his campaign by not properly vetting credit card donations.

[INDENT]

Obama cover-up claim over CIA chief's affair: Was the relationship discovered by FBI months ago, but hushed up due to election?

President Obama faced allegations of a major political cover-up last night over the resignation of CIA chief General David Petraeus, who had an affair with a married woman.

The US Congress is expected to investigate claims that the affair was hushed up to protect Obama’s re-election campaign.

It is believed the affair was discovered by the FBI months ago, but not made public until after the election.

The FBI began an investigation in February after discovering the 60-year-old’s computer had been accessed by someone else – believed to be his 40-year-old mistress Paula Broadwell – prompting fears of a major security breach.
This led to the discovery of hundreds of explicit emails including one referring to ‘sex under a desk’.
A source said last night: ‘The real question is, what did the President know, and when?’

Frances Townsend, a former senior US government security official and now a member of the CIA Advisory Committee, said: ‘Whenever the FBI opens an investigation of a senior official they have to make notification of that, especially if there is an intelligence concern. It is hard to believe the White House did not know about this prior to the election.’

White House officials insist the President did not know of the affair until last Wednesday, the day after the election. He accepted the retired four-star general’s resignation on Thursday, and the announcement was made on Friday.

Some have alleged the scandal is a smokescreen to stop Petraeus testifying before a Senate committee this week into the deaths of the US ambassador and three staff members in September in Benghazi, Libya. The White House has been accused of ignoring repeated warnings of an Al Qaeda terrorist attack on the embassy.

A senior Congressional staffer said last night: ‘What would he have told us? The resignation is incredibly convenient for the administration. Would he have revealed the CIA knew the Benghazi compound was under threat and Washington did nothing to secure it?’

Members of the House Intelligence Committee may still vote to subpoena Petraeus and force him to testify.

The source added: ‘This could be another Watergate situation where it is not the event that brings down the president but the cover-up.’

[/INDENT]