Petraeus to testify at Benghazi hearing

By NBC News staff

Former CIA Director David Petraeus will testify Thursday about the attack on the?U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi?before the Senate Intelligence Committee, a veteran senator confirmed to NBC News Wednesday.?

The Thursday hearing will be the first formal congressional inquiry into the September attack that killed?U.S. Ambassador in Libya Chris Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

Petraeus, a decorated four-star general who received widespread praise for the surge strategy in Iraq, resigned as CIA director on Friday, citing an extramarital affair.

?As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen intervened in nasty custody battle

Numerous federal government officials have told NBC News that the married general had a relationship with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, 40, who authored ?All In,? a book about Petraeus? education.

Republican lawmakers have criticized the administration?s evolving explanation of what triggered the Benghazi attack. Officials early on said it was a spontaneous reaction during a protest about an anti-Islamic film. Later, it was termed a planned terrorist attack.

Questions have also been raised about whether the consulate had adequate security and whether the State Department responded appropriately to requests for more protection.

Military analyst Col. Jack Jacobs (Ret.) said the sex scandal will affect the way Petraeus is questioned by Congress, because members were kept in the dark about the FBI inquiry that led to his resignation.?

Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails

?It will be interesting to see what tenor it takes and what the senators and congressmen, assuming he gets before both houses, have to say before talking to him. As you know, these hearings have a tendency to be less a question and answer period than it is an opportunity for the members to vent their spleen or talk about what they want to, so that part will be very, very interesting,? Jacobs said.???

?In terms of extracting real information about what actually took place and what role the CIA had in what took place in Benghazi, I believe that investigation will determine that they had no role, that by the time the CIA could do anything, it was all over.??

NBC's Chuck Todd discusses the political fallout from Petraeus-Allen scandal, noting that the White House national security team is probably more worried about wobbly leadership at the CIA and in Afghanistan than political damage.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/14/15162651-petraeus-to-testify-at-benghazi-hearing?lite

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