Spy who shagged me under his desk

General David Petraeus has admitted to an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. Picture: Supplied Source: The Sunday Telegraph

Broadwell is currently under FBI investigation. Source: The Sunday Telegraph

THE scandal that brought down CIA Director David Petraeus started with harassing emails sent by his biographer and paramour, Paula Broadwell, to another woman.

One of America's most decorated soldiers and its spy boss, General Petraeus, has been secretly having an affair with the pretty biographer and married mum of two.

Their love tryst, which began in the battlefields of Afghanistan, was only uncovered after the FBI launched an investigation into Broadwell for allegedly hacking into the general's email as part of an abusive attack on another woman who has not yet been identified. It is reportedly not Petraeus' wife.

While in his account, the FBI discovered sexually explicit emails between Petraeus and Broadwell - reportedly including one which made references to engaging in sex under a desk.

As the general was married and had the nations' highest security clearance, the affair was deemed a national security risk and investigated further as it potentially exposed the CIA head to blackmail.

Petraeus yesterday quit in disgrace, with his departure stunning political, military and intelligence establishments.

Broadwell, who describes herself as a national security analyst, is co-author of the best-selling biography All In: The Education Of General David Petraeus.

The retired four-star general was a leading commander in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars following 9/11. He was credited with the counter-offensive surge strategy that tamed the Iraq insurgency.

Known as a straight shooter, he was highly regarded on both sides of the political aisle. Republicans touted him as a potential presidential candidate, while President Barack Obama made him part of his cabinet.

Broadwell, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her radiologist husband Dr Scott Broadwell and their two young sons Lucien and Lando, was embedded with Petraeus in Afghanistan, and said the two would go on 8km jogs together.

Petraeus stepped down after he confessed to cheating on his wife of 37 years, Holly - behaviour he explained was "unacceptable" for a senior administration official. He first met Broadwell six years ago when he addressed students at Harvard University, where she is a researcher, and they eventually got to know each other better during runs.

CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned from his post, citing an extramarital affair.

The scandal broke after the FBI reportedly began to investigate threatening emails sent by Broadwell to another woman "close" to Petraeus.

FBI officials reportedly said the un-named recipient was frightened enough by the emails to go to the FBI for protection.

While initially investigating the reports, the FBI feared the CIA director's personal email account may have been hacked. But the sexual nature of the email exchanges exposed the affair.

Other reports suggest Broadwell split from Petraeus in 2011, and that he general continued to pursue her with hundreds of emails during the past year.

The FBI brought the matter up with Petraeus directly after being alerted that Broadwell may have had access to his personal email account. The emails involved in the matter were in most instances sent from the personal account, not his CIA one.

CIA officers long had expressed concern about Broadwell's unprecedented access to the director. She frequently visited the spy agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to meet Petraeus in his office, accompanied him on his punishing morning runs around the CIA grounds and often attended public functions as his guest, according to two former intelligence officials.

Broadwell has not responded to multiple emails and phone messages. Broadwell planned to celebrate her 40th birthday party in Washington this weekend, with many reporters invited. But her husband emailed guests to cancel the event late Friday.

Members of Congress said they want answers to questions about the affair that led to Petraeus's resignation.

In this 2004 file photo, Major General David Petraeus, center, kisses his wife, Holly, second left, as his son, Stephen, left, and daughter, Anne, right, look on upon his return home from Iraq. Picture: Christopher Berkey Source: AP

"He is truly remorseful about everything that's happened,'' said Steve Boylan, a retired army officer and former Petraeus spokesman who spoke with the former general yesterday. In a phone call with Boylan, Petraeus lamented the damage he'd done to his "wonderful family'' and the hurt he'd caused his wife.
 
"He screwed up, he knows he screwed up, now he's got to try to get past this with his family and heal,'' said Boylan.

The retired general told his staffers in a statement that he was guilty of "extremely poor judgment'' in engaging in the affair. "Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.'' He said he had offered his resignation to Obama.

In the biography, Broadwell, who served in the military for more than a decade, revealed she first met Petraeus during his visit to Harvard in 2006 when he was a commander at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

Facebook photo of Paula Broadwell with her husband Scott. Source: Supplied

"I was among the students invited by the school to meet with the general at a dinner afterward, because of my military background," she said.

"I introduced myself to then Lieutenant General Petraeus and told him about my research interests; he gave me his card and offered to put me in touch with other researchers and service members working on the same issues."

Broadwell said this was not a one-off as he often "does a lot of mentoring".

As she pursued her PhD in public policy in 2008, she contacted him to ask if she could interview him and they kept in touch via email.

"A few months into my research, General Petraeus, who was then leading Central Command, invited me to go for a run with him and his team along the Potomac River during one of his visits to Washington," she wrote.

"I figured I could interview him while we ran."

The keen runner said she wanted to test him to see if he could keep up with her as she interviewed him.

"Instead it became a test for me,' she said.

"As we talked during the run from the Pentagon to the Washington Monument and back, Petraeus progressively increased the pace until the talk turned to heavy breathing and we reached a six-minute-per-mile pace. It was a signature Petraeus move."

David Petraeus has resigned after admitting to an affair with Paula Broadwell, author of the CIA chief's biography All In. Picture: AP Source: AP

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