CIA sex scandal comes to Capitol Hill: David Petraeus testifies that CIA knew ... - New York Daily News

Disgraced former spy chief David Petraeus testified Friday that the CIA knew from the beginning that terrorists were behind the deadly Benghazi attack.

But they downplayed that detail in their talking points to avoid tipping off the Al Qaeda affiliates they were chasing.

The revelation raised a fusillade of questions from lawmakers, including Republicans critical of the Obama administration's flip-flop explanations of the attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

"(Petraeus)thought all along he made it clear that there were significant terrorist involvement," said Pete King (R-L.I.), who listened to the closed-testimony in front of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. "That is not my recollection of what he told us on Sept. 14."

But before Petraeus was grilled about Libya by lawmakers looking into the debacle, he was questioned about his career-ending affair with biographer Paula Broadwell.

Petraeus was asked at the outset of the Friday meetings whether the scandal that ruined his once sterling reputation would affect his testimony.

"He said no," King said.

Then Petraeus proceeded to explain why UN Ambassador Susan Rice was given talking points that blamed the deadly attack on demonstrations over an anti-Muslim video rather than on a specific terrorist organization. She conducted a series of interviews beginning five days after the attack.

Petraeus, according to King and other lawmakers who attended the hearings, said they didn't want to alert Ansar al-Shariah and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb that U.S. intelligence was on their trail.

He insisted the decision had nothing to do with the presidential campaign and that he was under no pressure from the Obama administration, which was touting the killing of Osama Bin Laden and other top Al Qaeda terrorists.

"The general was adamant there was no politicization of the process, no White House interference or political agenda," said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif). "He completely debunked that idea."

The White House has been under fire for giving conflicting accounts of what sparked the violence in Libya that resulted in the deaths of Stevens and three other Americans. Critics said Americans were misled.

Republicans, in particular, have been crying coverup.

This was Petraeus' first Capitol Hill appearance since his resignation last week. He was spirited to the House hearing via an underground tunnel to avoid the horde of reporters and photographers waiting for him.

Petraeus, who was not under oath during the classified sessions, told lawmakers he believed from the outset that terrorists were behind the deadly assault, which fell on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Initially, the CIA's draft talking points called it a "terrorist attack," Petraeus testified, according to King and other lawmakers.

Petraeus could not explain why the reference was removed from the final version or who did the editing, but he admitting signing off on the talking points that Rice eventually read, lawmakers said.

King said that someone outside of the CIA took the terror reference out of the talking points, according to the Associated Press.

"We have to find out who did it and why," he said.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said he understood Petraeus to say that the talking points were amended "because in an unclassified document you want to be careful who you identify as being involved."

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King said he also asked Petraeus about his role in managing the crisis as it was happening and came away satisfied that the former four-star general was "fully involved."

"He was a strong soldier," King said of Petraeus. "He was a solid guy. I consider him a friend, and that made the questioning tough to be honest with you. It's a lot easier when you dislike the guy."

"Any time you see tragedy for a good person, it's tough to go through," he added.

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who has been a harsh critic of the Obama administration's response to the attack, said Petraeus' Senate briefing later in the day was "comprehensive" and will help Congress "make judgments about what was clearly a failure of intelligence."

Meanwhile, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) defended Rice, who has been blasted as untrustworthy by McCain and other Republicans.

"She used the unclassified talking points that were signed off on by the entire intelligence community," Conrad said. "So criticisms of her are completely unwarranted. That is very clear."

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee listened to Petraeus for about two hours. She agreed that Rice, whose name has surfaced as a candidate for secretary of state, was merely leaning on the early information she was given.

"I don't think she should have been pilloried for this," she said.

Petraeus' testimony, delivered despite stepping down as CIA director one week before, had been expected to temper suspicion his resignation was deliberately timed to fall after the election — but before the Benghazi oversight hearings.

Lawmakers on Friday were also shown video, an attempt to construct a timeline of the attack. An official who viewed the video - strung together from drone surveillance and cell phone footage from Libyans - told the AP there were no demonstrations before the violence erupted.

Gunmen appeared to simply storm the Benghazi mission, the official said.

With News Wire Services
jstraw@nydailynews.com

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