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New York federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch has been nominated by President Barack Obama to replace Eric Holder as US attorney general, the White House announces.
If the Senate confirms her appointment, Loretta Lynch will be the first African-American woman to head the US Justice Department.
Eric Holder, who resigned from the post six weeks ago, was the first African-American to serve as attorney general.
The White House said Loretta Lynch would be formally nominated on November 8.
Correspondents say Loretta Lynch, 55, is known for her low-key personality and has stirred little controversy during her two tenures as US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Loretta Lynch will be the first African-American woman to head the US Justice Department
“Ms Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important US Attorney’s Offices in the country,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
Her nomination comes after Republicans won control of the Senate in Tuesday’s mid-term elections.
Loretta Lynch – a North Carolina native and Harvard-trained lawyer – was one of several candidates Eric Holder had recommended to succeed him.
She has experience in both civil rights and corporate fraud cases.
Eric Holder, 63, led the justice department for six years, earning praise from President Barack Obama who called him “the people’s lawyer”.
However, Eric Holder frequently clashed with Republicans in Congress over issues including gun control and same-gender marriage.
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US Attorney General Eric Holder is resigning after six years on the job.
Eric Holder is the nation’s first black attorney general.
The White House said that President Barack Obama would announce Eric Holder’s departure later Thursday, September 25, and that Holder planned to remain at the Justice Department until his successor was in place. White House officials said President Barack Obama had not made a final decision on a replacement for Eric Holder, who was one of the most progressive voices in his Cabinet.
US Attorney General Eric Holder is resigning after six years on the job
Advisers to Barack Obama and Eric Holder said the attorney general had been planning his departure with the president for some time. Some possible candidates who have been discussed among administration officials include Solicitor General Don Verrilli, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Deputy US Attorney General James Cole and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island attorney general.
Eric Holder, a 63-year-old former judge and prosecutor, took office in early 2009 as the US government grappled with the worst financial crisis in decades and with divisive questions on the handling of captured terrorism suspects, issues that helped shape his tenure as the country’s top law enforcement official. He is the fourth-longest serving attorney general in U.S. history.
He also took on questions of racial fairness, working to improve police relations with minorities, enforce civil rights laws and remove disparities in sentencing. Most recently he became the Obama administration’s point man in the federal response to the police shooting last month of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri. In the shooting’s aftermath, he enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study possible racial bias in law enforcement.
The news of Eric Holder’s resignation came as civil rights leaders and the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, who died in a New York City police chokehold this summer, were appearing at a news conference in Washington calling on the Justice Department to take over investigations into the deaths.
The National Guard has begun withdrawing from Ferguson, Missouri, where the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white policeman Darren Wilson has sparked days of protests.
The National Guard troops were deployed in Ferguson on August 18 when demonstrations became more violent.
On August 21, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon ordered their withdrawal when it appeared that tensions had eased.
Michael Brown, 18, was killed on 9 August after being stopped by a police officer for walking in the street.
Jay Nixon had called in the National Guard to support police operations, amid unrest driven by anger over Michael Brown’s death and the police response.
However, August 20 and 21 were relatively calm with only a few arrests made.
Despite the easing of tension, some caution violence could flare up again when Michael Brown is buried on August 25.
The National Guard troops were deployed in Ferguson when demonstrations became more violent over Michael Brown’s shooting
“Monday night will be a critical night,” St Louis based Bishop Edwin Bass told the Reuters news agency.
“The funeral could have a big impact on the mood of the community,” he said.
Officer Darren Wilson, has been suspended with pay and Michael Brown’s family and supporters have called for him to be prosecuted.
A grand jury panel of residents has begun hearing evidence in the case, though officials have not said when it will reach a decision.
Attorney General Eric Holder arrived in Ferguson on August 20 to talk to justice department officials leading a separate federal investigation into the killing.
Eric Holder, who is the first black US attorney general, said on August 21 that the “national outcry we have seen speaks to the mistrust and mutual suspicions that can take hold between law enforcement and certain communities”.
“I wanted the people of Ferguson to know I personally understood that mistrust,” he said.
“This attorney general and this department of justice stand with the people of Ferguson.”
Eric Holder added that while he had gone to Ferguson to “provide reassurance, in fact they gave me hope”.
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Attorney General Eric Holder has promised a “full, fair and independent” investigation as he arrived in Ferguson, Missouri, in a bid to defuse tensions following the police shooting of black teenager Michael Brown.
Ferguson has seen 10 nights of often violent clashes between police and demonstrators since the shooting of Michael Brown, who was unarmed.
Police arrested 47 people on August 19 night but said that the violence had largely abated.
Community leaders have continued to appeal for calm and healing.
In an open letter published in the St Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday, Eric Holder said that the justice department “will defend the right of protesters to peacefully demonstrate”.
However, Eric Holder added that “violence cannot be condoned” and urged Ferguson residents to condemn “the actions of looters, vandals and others seeking to inflame tensions and sow discord”.
He said violent acts had been committed by “a very small minority, in many cases individuals from outside Ferguson”.
Reports suggest that Eric Holder is considering opening a broader investigation into policing in Ferguson in general, following several allegations of police misconduct.
The New York Times reports that under Eric Holder, the justice department has ordered over twice as many such department-wide investigations than before.
Many local residents have demanded that Officer Darren Wilson, who shot the 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9, should be arrested and prosecuted. He has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Eric Holder has promised a full, fair and independent investigation into Michael Brown’s death as he arrived in Ferguson
Witnesses have said Michael Brown was shot as he held his hands up in a position of surrender, while the police and supporters of Darren Wilson have said he fired during a fight with Michael Brown.
The police response, flooding the town with hundreds of officers in riot gear, has been criticized as heavy-handed.
Authorities were also criticized for not being transparent enough in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The St Louis County prosecutor’s office said it would present evidence against Darren Wilson to a grand jury on Wednesday.
The jury will determine whether or not to charge him with a crime.
A group of protesters gathered in front of the courthouse on Wednesday, chanting, praying and holding up signs urging the county prosecutor to step aside in this case, as a line of police officers stood guard over the main door.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has said he would not seek Bob McCulloch’s removal.
Both St Louis officials and the US justice department are conducting investigations into the case, which has provoked demonstrations throughout the country.
Police in Ferguson said they arrested 47 people on Tuesday night following a largely peaceful protest.
Missouri Highway Patrol Capt Ron Johnson, who has led the police response since Thursday, said that the protest began without trouble but that during the night some protesters threw bottles of water and urine at police.
“As of 01:00, we have 47 arrests,” he said.
However, he stressed that police had not been fired upon and that they did not use tear gas on protesters.
“Tonight we saw a different dynamic,” Ron Johnson said.
“Tonight the elders in this community, volunteers, activists and the clergy came out in large numbers. They walked, they talked with people. They urged order and common peace,” he said.
The relative calm is in contrast to Monday night’s violence when Capt. Ron Johnson said police came under “heavy gunfire” and responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
This was despite the deployment of National Guard units in the town on Monday.
The police shot another black man on Tuesday in St Louis, in an incident many feared could exacerbate the tension in Ferguson.
The man was suspected of robbery, and had approached them brandishing a knife. The second shooting has so far had little or no impact on the protests in Ferguson.
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Beijing has denounced the US charges against five Chinese army officers accused of economic cyber-espionage.
China says the US is also guilty of spying on other countries, including China, and accuses the US of hypocrisy and “double standards”.
US ambassador in Beijing has been summoned over the incident. China says relations will be damaged.
US prosecutors say the Chinese officers stole trade secrets and internal documents from five companies and a labor union.
China’s defense ministry put out a strongly-worded statement on its website on Tuesday saying that China’s government and its military “had never engaged in any cyber espionage activities”.
It also took aim at the US, saying: “For a long time, the US has possessed the technology and essential infrastructure needed to conduct large-scale systematic cyber thefts and surveillance on foreign government leaders, businesses and individuals. This is a fact which the whole world knows.
“The US’ deceitful nature and its practice of double standards when it comes to cyber security have long been exposed, from the WikiLeaks incident to the Edward Snowden affair.”
Beijing has denounced the US charges against five Chinese army officers accused of economic cyber-espionage (photo FBI)
The defense ministry added that China’s military had been the target of many online attacks, and “a fair number” of those had been launched from American IP addresses.
It said the arrest of the five Chinese army officers had “severely damaged mutual trust”.
According to a Xinhua report on Tuesday, between March and May this year, a total of 1.18 million computers in China were directly controlled by 2,077 machines in the US via Trojan horse or zombie malware.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang lodged a “solemn representation” with US ambassador Max Baucus on Monday night, Xinhua reported.
On Monday US Attorney General Eric Holder said a grand jury had laid hacking charges against the Chinese nationals, the first against “known state actors for infiltrating US commercial targets by cyber means”.
Eric Holder identified the alleged victims as Westinghouse Electric, US Steel, Alcoa Inc, Allegheny Technologies, SolarWorld and the US Steelworkers Union.
“The alleged hacking appears to have been conducted for no reason other than to advantage state-owned companies and other interests in China, at the expense of businesses here in the United States,” he said.
In the indictment brought in the western district of Pennsylvania – the heart of the US steel industry – the US named Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui, all officers in Unit 61398 of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as the alleged conspirators.
FBI officials said the hacking – between 2006 and 2014 – caused “significant losses” at the companies and that there were likely to be many more victims.
Last year, cyber-defense company Mandiant published a report on a Chinese military unit the firm said was behind the vast majority of significant attacks on American federal agencies and companies.
In March, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon planned to more than triple its cyber-security capabilities in the next few years to defend against such internet attacks.
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The FBI and Russian FSB security services are “in talks” over fugitive Edward Snowden, according to President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman.
However, Dmitry Peskov repeated Russia’s position that it would “not hand anyone over”.
Edward Snowden, 30, has been stuck in transit at a Moscow airport for the past month as he has no valid travel documents.
The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, has sought to assure Moscow he would not face the death penalty in America.
Washington wants him extradited for leaking details of surveillance programmes.
Dmitry Peskov did not specify what the nature of the talks between the agencies was.
He did, however, remind reporters that President Vladimir Putin had expressed a strong determination not to allow the case to interfere with US-Russian relations.
The FBI and Russian FSB security services are “in talks” over fugitive Edward Snowden
Vladimir Putin had not taken part in any discussions with the American authorities over Mr Snowden case, Dmitry Peskov said.
Edward Snowden “has not made any request that would require examination by the head of state”, Dmitry Peskov added.
The Russian president has refused to hand him to the American authorities, but said he could stay in Russia only if he stopped leaking US secrets.
Edward Snowden, whose passport has been cancelled by the US, has been in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport since arriving from Hong Kong on June 23.
On Thursday Edward Snowden’s lawyer Anatoly Kucherena denied earlier reports that Snowden had been given Russian travel documents.
Edward Snowden has requested temporary asylum in Russia, and said recently his favored final destination was Latin America.
In a letter to Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov, Eric Holder said that the charges against Edward Snowden were not punishable by death.
If additional charges were brought which could incur capital punishment, the US would not seek to impose such a penalty, he added.
The Snowden affair has caused diplomatic ructions around the world, upsetting America’s close allies and traditional enemies.
Leaks by the former CIA worker have led to revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) is collecting Americans’ phone records.
On Wednesday evening, an attempt to block funding for the programme narrowly failed in a 205-217 vote in the House of Representatives.
The White House had lobbied Congress to support the surveillance.
Opponents of the US, including Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, have all offered Edward Snowden asylum.
The US Department of Justice confirmed today that it will look into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin to determine whether federal prosecutors should file criminal charges against George Zimmerman in the wake of his acquittal.
The department opened an investigation into Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012, but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed.
In a statement Sunday, the Justice Department said the criminal section of the civil rights division, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida are continuing to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal probe, in addition to the evidence and testimony from the state trial.
The statement said that, in the government’s words, “experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation”.
This move follows demands from a furious NAACP for the Obama administration to intervene.
Already, over 100,000 people have signed up to an online petition and the NAACP has written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging the Department of Justice to press civil rights charges against 29-year-old George Zimmerman.
In his first public statement since the verdict, President Barack Obama called for calm on Sunday after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, saying his death was a tragedy and that the country should seek ways to stem gun violence.
Barack Obama urged Americans to broaden “the circle of understanding and compassion” in their communities and put some of the emotion the case has aroused into curtailing gun violence.
On Sunday, Daryl Parks, an attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin was non-committal when asked if they supported the NAACP’s call for George Zimmerman to be prosecuted by the Justice Department.
When asked on Fox News Sunday if Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin and mother, Sybrina Fulton, supported such a move, Daryl Parks seemed to defer.
“The beauty of our country is that we have several tiers of government, several aspects of laws and that different times different aspects apply,” said Daryl Parks.
“Different laws apply at different times, different places apply at different times. That would be a different arena.”
Both Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton chose not to be in the Seminole Circuit Court when the jurors announced their decision just before 10 p.m.
George Crump, the family’s attorney, said that they will still be pursuing a civil case against George Zimmerman.
NAACP President Benjamin Jealous was unequivocal in his response to the not-guilty decision by the Florida jury.
The Department of Justice confirmed that it will investigate the death of Trayvon Martin in the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal
“We are outraged and heartbroken over today’s verdict,” Benjamin Jealous said in a statement.
“We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed,” he said.
Politicians such as Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y) and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson have all added their voices to the NAACP’s position and demanded the administration review the case.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, called the verdict “a sad day in the country” and “a slap in the face to those that believe in justice in this country”.
“I think this is an atrocity,” Al Sharpton said.
“It is probably one of the worst situations that I have seen.”
Jesse Jackson called the verdict: “Old South justice.”
“I’m disappointed and I’m saddened for the family,” Jesse Jackson said.
Benjamin Jealous said Trayvon Martin’s family may bring a civil suit against George Zimmerman but said federal criminal charges must be filed because evidence suggests race was a factor in the case.
He told CNN the black community is upset with a situation in which “our young people have to fear the bad guys and the good guys. The robbers and the cops and the self-appointed community watch volunteer who think that they’re keeping folks safer”.
Al Sharpton cited the example of Rodney King, the man whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police triggered rioting two decades ago after a state criminal trial found the police officers not guilty.
Later, the Justice Department brought a federal case that resulted in the conviction of two officers.
However, after George Zimmerman was found not guilty on second-degree and manslaughter charges by a Florida jury on Saturday, Attorney General Eric Holder has been left with a decision of massive implications.
The enormous pressure on Eric Holder, the United States’ first African-American attorney general, will grow over the coming days – especially in light of previous statements made on the matter.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a review of the shooting and Eric Holder went on record to say that he would take appropriate action if there was sufficient evidence of a civil rights crime.
“If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action, and at every step, the facts and law will guide us forward,” said Eric Holder in a speech in April to Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
However, in remarks subsequent to that, Eric Holder toned-down his comments, saying that the DOJ faces a “very high barrier” to bring federal criminal charges.
Eric Holder made personal remarks about the death of Trayvon Martin in April, saying “as a parent I reacted to it”.
“This is a pain that no parent should have to endure. The notion of having to bury a child is something that is, I think in some ways for a parent, the ultimate pain,” he said.
“The primary responsibility we have in the Justice Department is to support the state in its ongoing investigation, to do our own thorough and parallel investigation which we are in the process of doing and try to resolve this matter in as fair and complete a way and as quickly as we can.”
The full text of the NAACP’s petition to Attorney General Eric Holder
“Attorney General Eric Holder,
The Department of Justice has closely monitored the State of Florida’s prosecution of the case against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder since it began.
Today, with the acquittal of George Zimmerman, it is time for the Department of Justice to act.
The most fundamental of civil rights – the right to life – was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin.
We ask that the Department of Justice file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman for this egregious violation.
Please address the travesties of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin by acting today.
Thank you”
George Zimmerman shot dead Martin in Sanford on February 26th, 2012.
George Zimmerman, 29, maintains he shot Trayvon Martin, 17, in self-defense, while the state argued that Zimmerman “profiled” Martin and concluded he was a criminal.
For their part, the NAACP is trying to build a ground swell of support for its call for federal charges.
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Edward Snowden’s father, Lon Snowden, has said he believes his son would return to the US on certain conditions.
Lon Snowden asked for “ironclad assurances” his son’s rights would be protected in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
He asked his son not be held before trial nor subjected to a gag order, and be able to choose where he was tried.
Edward Snowden, who faces spy charges in the US, flew to Moscow last weekend and has requested asylum in Ecuador.
“Mr. Snowden is reasonably confident that his son would voluntarily return to the United States if there were ironclad assurances that his constitutional rights would be honored,” said the letter by Lon Snowden’s lawyer, Bruce Fein.
The correspondence also requested for the case against the former intelligence contractor to be dismissed in the event that any of the three conditions were not met.
Earlier on Friday, Lon Snowden told NBC News he had not spoken to his son since April, a month before he fled to Hong Kong after leaking to media details of a huge US snooping programme.
Lon Snowden said his son had broken the law, but denied he was a traitor.
“At this point I don’t feel that he’s committed treason,” he said.
Edward Snowden’s father, Lon Snowden, has said he believes his son would return to the US on certain conditions
“He has in fact broken US law, in a sense that he has released classified information.”
Lon Snowden also voiced concern his son was being exploited by WikiLeaks, which has offered legal assistance to the 30-year-old.
“I don’t want to put him in peril, but I am concerned about those who surround him,” he said.
“I think WikiLeaks, if you’ve looked at past history, you know, their focus isn’t necessarily the constitution of the United States. It’s simply to release as much information as possible.”
Edward Snowden flew last Sunday from Hong Kong to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, where Russian authorities say he remains in a transit zone.
On Friday, the diplomatic fallout from the affair continued as a US envoy accused China of “misbehavior” for allowing Edward Snowden to leave.
“I don’t think we had a good-faith partner throughout that process,” said Stephen Young, the US consul general in Hong Kong, warning of repercussions.
The city’s government has said the US arrest paperwork had clerical errors, and that it had no legal basis to stop Edward Snowden travelling to Russia.
Beijing has accused the US of “double standards” on cybersecurity.
Ecuador says it has not yet processed the former US National Security Agency contractor’s request for asylum.
Russian authorities complained on Friday the US had not informed them in time that Edward Snowden’s passport had been revoked, placing Moscow in a “tough spot”.
“If this fact had been known in advance, then possibly Mr. Snowden might not have flown to Moscow and this entire story might never have happened,” an unnamed Russian official told Interfax news agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin this week refused to hand over Edward Snowden to Washington, saying he was a “free man”.
Late on Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro repeated his offer of sanctuary to the US fugitive.
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US Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly staying on in his position for at least another year past President Barack Obama’s first term, according to Fox News.
Barack Obama had previously asked Eric Holder to continue in his role beyond January and Holder accepted his request, but they did not specify a timeline, the Wall Street Journal had reported earlier.
There was some uncertainty as to whether Eric Holder would stay on in the administration after he told a college audience in Baltimore earlier this month that he had not made up his mind on the matter.
“Do I think that there are things that I still want to do? Do I have some gas left in the tank?” Eric Holder mused.
Eric Holder was under fire last week as questions emerged over why he did not tell Barack Obama that ex-CIA Director David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
He was told by the FBI that they were investigating the relationship between the director of the CIA and Paula Broadwell in late summer, but he appears not to have shared the information with anyone else.
Barack Obama did not find out about the scandal until after the election, just two days before David Petraeus resigned, even though senior officials had apparently been aware of it for months.
Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly staying on in his position for at least another year past President Barack Obama’s first term
Eric Holder was also under fire in July, when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives charged him with contempt of Congress over the “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal.
The charges were a reaction to Eric Holder’s refusal to turn over to lawmakers all of the Justice Department documents they demanded on the botched gun-tracking operation.
Republicans questioned how much the Justice Department – and the White House – knew about the operation, which allowed U.S. guns to be moved into Mexico in hopes of tracking them to drug traffickers.
The operation backfired when at least one of those guns was used to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent in 2010.
The White House denied any involvement in the program.
The head of the House Intelligence Committee suggested on Sunday that President Barack Obama might have known about former CIA Director David Petraeus’ extra-marital affair before the November election, and said Attorney General Eric Holder should address this question soon before Congress.
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican, said Eric Holder’s statement that the Justice Department had not informed the president before the election implied that Holder might have told Barack Obama privately.
Mike Rogers noted that the FBI investigation of the communications between David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell arose due to concern over a counter-intelligence threat. Both David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell have said they did not share any security secrets, and investigators have said they have found no security breach.
“It probably should have been brought forward earlier as a national security threat,” Mike Rogers said.
“I’m not sure that the president was not told before Election Day. The attorney general said that the Department of Justice did not notify the president, but we don’t know if the attorney general…[notified him],” he said.
Mike Rogers said Eric Holder should come before the intelligence committees to discuss it.
“We could resolve this very quickly with a conversation in the intelligence spaces if he did have that conversation with the president.”
Barack Obama may have known about David Petraeus affair with Paula Broadwell before election
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein disagreed, saying Holder had explained to the intelligence committees there was no notification while the investigation was under way. Justice and the FBI took this approach, she said, “so there is an ability to move ahead without any political weighing-in on any side”.
David Petraeus admitted to the affair and resigned his post at the CIA three days after Barack Obama was elected to a second term on November 6.
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham called the FBI investigation of the affair “the oddest story in the world” and doubted Barack Obama knew before the election.
“I could see how he would not know,” he said.
The FBI started probing emails sent by Paula Broadwell to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus, in May 2012, and soon discovered that she had been in a romantic relationship with the decorated former general.
September 6, 2011:
David Petraeus was unanimously appointed to be the head of the Central Intelligence Agency after spending over 37 years in the military.
November 2011:
David Petraeus allegedly began his affair with Paula Broadwell, a former Army reservist and doctoral researcher who was writing a biography of Petraeus.
May 2012:
The FBI first officially knew that Paula Broadwall was sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus. There is no indication that Jill Kelley had any sort of romantic affair with David Petraeus, but the threatening nature of the emails from Paula Broadwell suggest that she felt threatened in some way by Jill Kelley’s close connection to David Petraeus.
End of Summer 2012:
Paula Broadwall’s affair with David Petraeus is thought to have formally ended in July, though it was not until the end of the summer that the FBI realized it was David Petraeus emailing Paula Broadwall because he had been using a Gmail account established under a pseudonym for their personal communications, some of which was sexually explicit in nature.
At an unspecified date at the end of the summer, the FBI investigators notified the Attorney General’s office – and Attorney General Eric Holder himself – because they needed the authority to interview Paula Broadwall and David Petraeus. In telling the AG, investigators were clear that they were looking into the possibility of pressing criminal charges against Paula Broadwell for either her threats against Jill Kelley or any illegal action that stemmed from the communication with David Petraeus.
David Petraeus allegedly began his affair with Paula Broadwell in November 2011, after he was appointed CIA director
September 2012:
Paula Broadwell was first interviewed at some point in September, when she admitted to the affair and turned over her computer.
October 2012:
In mid-October, Republican Representative David Reichert was told of a national security investigation involving David Petraeus by an unidentified FBI informant. David Reichert then forwarded that tip to Eric Cantor, the House Majority leader and the one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, on October 27.
The week before the Election, late October 2012:
From there, the circle began to widen as David Petraeus himself was interviewed the week before the Election, during which he admitted the affair but said that he was not the one to give Paula Broadwall the classified documents that investigators found on her computer.
She echoed that statement during her second interview with investigators on November 2. FBI and justice department officials then discussed their findings for three days, deciding that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge either Paula Broadwall or David Petraeus on a criminal level.
Election Day, November 6, 2012:
At 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, the FBI told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about their investigation, and he waited until Wednesday evening to tell White House officials that David Petraeus was considering resigning.
Thursday November 8, 2012:
It was not until Thursday that President Barack Obama was informed, and he met with David Petraeus that day but did not immediately accept his resignation, waiting until Friday to let the disgraced General quit.
In the hours before David Petraeus’ public announcement on Friday, the circle drastically widened and Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee learned of the plan.
Dianne Feinstein contacted David Petraeus and asked him whether he thought it was truly necessary for him to leave his post. Citing his belief in leadership coming from the top-down, he said it was the best thing for him to do.
US Attorney General Eric Holder is under fire as questions emerge over why he did not tell President Barack Obama that David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
Eric Holder was told by the FBI that they were investigating the relationship between the director of the CIA and Paula Broadwell in late summer, but appears not to have shared the information with anyone else.
Barack Obama did not find out about the scandal until Wednesday – just two days before David Petraeus resigned – even though multiple senior politicians had apparently been aware of it for months.
The revelation that Eric Holder knew about David Petraeus’ infidelity could increase pressure on Barack Obama to replace him when he puts together his Cabinet for the next four years.
The FBI started probing emails sent by Paula Broadwell to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus, in May 2012, and soon discovered that she had been in a romantic relationship with the decorated former general.
Towards the end of the summer, the FBI contacted Eric Holder’s office in order to seek the authority to interview Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus.
The Attorney General, a longtime ally of Barack Obama, must have known about the affair from this point, but did not tell the President about it despite the possibility it could end the career of David Petraeus, one of the most respected soldiers of his generation.
Conservatives – who have long opposed Eric Holder over his role in the botched “Fast and Furious” gun-running investigation – attacked the Attorney General over his silence.
“The idea that the White House didn’t learn of this potential problem until Election Day, I just find incomprehensible,” John Bolton, former ambassador to the UN, told Fox News.
“Did the Attorney General sit on this information for two months?”
Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz added: “Notification should have also gone to the President – immediately.”
Attorney General Eric Holder is under fire as questions emerge over why he did not tell President Barack Obama that David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell
David Petraeus’ affair: who knew what and when. The timeline of the downfall
September 6, 2011:
David Petraeus was unanimously appointed to be the head of the Central Intelligence Agency after spending over 37 years in the military.
November 2011:
David Petraeus allegedly began his affair with Paula Broadwell, a former Army reservist and doctoral researcher who was writing a biography of Petraeus.
May 2012:
The FBI first officially knew that Paula Broadwall was sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus. There is no indication that Jill Kelley had any sort of romantic affair with David Petraeus, but the threatening nature of the emails from Paula Broadwell suggest that she felt threatened in some way by Jill Kelley’s close connection to David Petraeus.
End of Summer 2012:
Paula Broadwall’s affair with David Petraeus is thought to have formally ended in July, though it was not until the end of the summer that the FBI realized it was David Petraeus emailing Paula Broadwall because he had been using a Gmail account established under a pseudonym for their personal communications, some of which was sexually explicit in nature.
At an unspecified date at the end of the summer, the FBI investigators notified the Attorney General’s office – and Attorney General Eric Holder himself – because they needed the authority to interview Paula Broadwall and David Petraeus. In telling the AG, investigators were clear that they were looking into the possibility of pressing criminal charges against Paula Broadwell for either her threats against Jill Kelley or any illegal action that stemmed from the communication with David Petraeus.
September 2012:
Paula Broadwell was first interviewed at some point in September, when she admitted to the affair and turned over her computer.
October 2012:
In mid-October, Republican Representative David Reichert was told of a national security investigation involving David Petraeus by an unidentified FBI informant. David Reichert then forwarded that tip to Eric Cantor, the House Majority leader and the one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, on October 27.
The week before the Election, late October 2012:
From there, the circle began to widen as David Petraeus himself was interviewed the week before the Election, during which he admitted the affair but said that he was not the one to give Paula Broadwall the classified documents that investigators found on her computer.
She echoed that statement during her second interview with investigators on November 2. FBI and justice department officials then discussed their findings for three days, deciding that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge either Paula Broadwall or David Petraeus on a criminal level.
Election Day, November 6, 2012:
At 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, the FBI told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about their investigation, and he waited until Wednesday evening to tell White House officials that David Petraeus was considering resigning.
Thursday November 8, 2012:
It was not until Thursday that President Barack Obama was informed, and he met with David Petraeus that day but did not immediately accept his resignation, waiting until Friday to let the disgraced General quit.
In the hours before David Petraeus’ public announcement on Friday, the circle drastically widened and Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee learned of the plan.
Dianne Feinstein contacted David Petraeus and asked him whether he thought it was truly necessary for him to leave his post. Citing his belief in leadership coming from the top-down, he said it was the best thing for him to do.
The White House faces growing demands from Capitol Hill for answers about what the FBI and President Barack Obama knew about the David Petraeus scandal and why the president was not informed about the months-long investigation until after his re-election.
The fact that David Petraeus, who was scheduled to give testimony on Thursday about CIA intelligence surrounding the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Libya, but now that appearance has been delayed because of his resignation on Friday.
As more information is released, it is clear that Representative Eric Cantor- one of the country’s most powerful Republicans- was notified of the investigation involving David Petraeus on October 27, more than a week before the election.
Federal investigators from the FBI and the Justice Department- including Barack Obama-appointee Attorney General Eric Holder- had been aware of the ensuing scandal for months
In addition to their displeasure at being left in the dark until just hours before David Petraeus made his very public announcement on Friday, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are concerned that the timeline of the various notifications was purposefully slowed down to allow for some degree of a cover-up over Petraeus’ scheduled testimony.
The timing of the Petraeus resignation and this week’s Benghazi hearings means the two issues have, for now, become inextricably linked.
As CIA director, David Petraeus is understood to have interviewed the CIA base chief and head of the CIA response team about what happened in Benghazi when Ambassador Chris Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith and CIA contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were killed.
At the same time, Congress wants to know why, if senior FBI figures knew of the affair in the late summer, President Barack Obama was not informed until last week and, additionally, why leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence committees learned of the resignation from the media.
According to the White House, Barack Obama was not told of the FBI investigation and David Petraeus’ affair until last Thursday, even though he meets regularly with the head of the FBI.
Some Republicans have suggested there might be a cover-up over Benghazi or that the news was held back until after the election.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican and chair of the House Intelligence Committee, have expressed their dismay at not having been informed earlier.
General Michael Hayden, former CIA chief, said the timing of the resignation was “mysterious”.
He told Fox News: “Hanging out there is the requirement in law to keep the intelligence committees fully and currently informed about significant intelligence activity.
“It’s not surprising that Senator Feinstein and Chairman Rogers have shown a lot of pique at not being let in on this a bit earlier.”
According to the FBI, their investigation began in the spring when Jill Kelley, described as an unofficial “social liaison” to the Joint Special Operations Command in Tampa, told a friend in the FBI that she had received harassing emails from another woman.
Jill Kelley, who is Lebanese-born, and her husband Scott were friend of David Petraeus, 60, and his wife Holly. The FBI investigation established that Paul Broadwell, 40, a married mother of two, had sent the emails.
In monitoring Paula Broadwell’s emails, it was discovered that she was receiving emails of a sexual nature from a mysterious Gmail account.
It was eventually discovered that the mysterious emails were from David Petraeus, who admitted the affair.
CIA Director David Petraeus resigned on Friday November 9 citing an extramarital affair
On October 31st, however, and before anyone else on Capitol Hill or in the White House knew, the FBI friend of Jill Kelley contacted Representative Dave Reichert regarding concerns about national security and asking for a member of the Republican congressional leadership.
Dave Reichert directed the FBI man to Representative Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip, who spoke to him and then informed the FBI of the conversation.
Ronald Kessler, a Newsmax journalist, said he was informed of the affair and FBI investigation by an FBI source on October 10th. David Petraeus and Paul Broadwell were interviewed during the week of October 29th and both admitted their affair.
Paula Broadwell was interviewed again on November 2nd, at which time the FBI is said to have concluded that no charges would be brought either for cyber stalking or security breaches.
David Petraeus has told friends he did not have an affair with Jill Kelley, 37, a mother of three. In a statement issued on Sunday, Jill Kelley asked for privacy for her and her family and neither confirmed nor denied an affair.
Speaking on CBS, Senator Lindsey Graham, a personal and confidant of David Petraeus, said: “Well, if there`s no effect of the affair on national security, I think we need to move on. But at the end of the day, the one thing that has to happen, in my view, is we’ve got to get to the bottom of Benghazi.
“I hate what happened to General Petraeus for his family and the families for those involved, but we have four dead Americans in Benghazi. We have a national security failure long in the making.
“I don`t see how in the world you can find out what happened in Benghazi before, during, and after the attack if General Petraeus doesn`t testify, so from my point of view, it`s absolutely essential that he give testimony before the Congress so we can figure out Benghazi.”
He added: “I would suggest that we have a joint select committee of House and Senate members and we do this together, not have three different committee going off in three different directions, so we can get to the bottom of it like we did in Watergate and Iran Contra. I think that would be smart for the Congress to combine resources.”
Just as with Watergate, the central issue over events surrounding David Petraeus’ resignation is crystallizing into something similar to the one Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee famously asked during the Watergate hearings: “What did the President know and when did he know it.”
Neither Robert Mueller, FBI director, not Eric Holder, attorney general, has commented on when they learned of the investigation. Both the FBI and Justice Department has said no one in the White House was told of the investigation until last week.
Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor, compared what happened in Benghazi to Watergate and told Fox News it was essential David Petraeus testified. Even though he is now a private citizen, David Petraeus can be compelled to appear.
“The frustration is justified,” Rudy Giuliani said.
“And it’s in the national interest. Now we’re going to have a hearing next week, and the man who knows the facts, David Petraeus – he’s the only man who can really tell us what the CIA knew, what they did, why they did it, how they did it. He’s not going to testify.
“And this is a very convenient way to get the administration out of a very, very difficult situation. But is inevitable. This is like Watergate. This is inevitable. This is all going to come out.
“It may take a month, it may take five months, but this is all going to come out. And every single new cover-up they do just makes it much, much worse.”
Representative Peter King of New York, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on MSNBC that the FBI was “derelict in its duty” when it failed to tell the White House immediately when it learned of David Petraeus’s affair.
“Once the FBI realized that it was investigating the director of the CIA or the CIA director had come within its focus or its scope, I believe at that time they had an absolute obligation to tell the president. Not to protect David Petraeus, but to protect the president.
“The fact is he is a key part of the president’s foreign policy team, maybe more than any other CIA director in recent times.
“He was going around the world negotiating various understandings and agreements, I’m aware of that.
“And to have someone out there in such a sensitive position who the FBI thought perhaps could have been compromised or was under the scope of an FBI investigation who may or may not have been having an affair at the time, that to me had to have been brought to the president or certainly to the National Security Council. If not, the FBI was derelict in its duty.”
He added: “This is a crisis, I believe, of major proportions. This is not the usual political thing. We’re not talking about the secretary of commerce or some under secretary somewhere.”
