The CIA sex scandal is coming to Capitol Hill, with four-star philanderer David Petraeus due Friday for a grilling on affairs — his own and those of national security.
The disgraced retired general, who resigned as CIA director last Friday over his romance with his married biographer, will address the fatal 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
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But the tawdry liaisons with Paula Broadwell are certain to surface before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. "I'm sure that will come up," said Rep. C.A. (Dutch) Ruppersberger (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House committee.
Petraeus told an HLN reporter that he never shared any classified information with Broadwell. The upcoming closed-door questioning of Petraeus was the latest development in the fast-moving scandal:
-- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Thursday asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review ethics training and offer trouble-avoidance tips for top officers.
-- The CIA announced its own "exploratory" investigation into its former boss' behavior.
-- Panetta and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) offered a vote of confidence for the other general swept up in the probe — Gen. John Allen — who exchanged thousands of pages of flirty emails with Tampa military socialite Jill Kelley.
The media has been camped at the Kelley house since she was identified as Petraeus' other other woman — the target of emails from a hostile and apparently threatened Broadwell.
On Thursday, the stress was starting to show as Kelley's husband, Scott, emerged from their million-dollar mansion with his middle finger extended.
Meanwhile, Petraeus, in a series of off-camera chats with HLN's Kyra Phillips, was in turn apologetic and fatalistic about his behavior.
He also said there was no link between his resignation and the Benghazi attack that left Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.
The 60-year-old former four-star Army general said his affair with the two-decades-younger Broadwell was a personal failing that never tainted his public service.
"He was very clear that he screwed up terribly . . . even felt fortunate to have a wife who is far better than he deserves," Phillips said, recounting her conversation with Petraeus.
Things were looking up for Allen, however. In the wake of the scandal, his promotion to lead NATO forces in Europe was put on hold by President Obama, but Vietnam vet McCain called him "one of our best military leaders."
"And I continue to have confidence in his ability," the Arizona senator added.
The general is under investigation for his email relationship with Jill Kelley, a Florida woman with ties to a local Air Force base.
Probers were going through 20,000 pages of communications between Allen and Kelley — both married. There are no reports of a physical relationship, but the emails were described as "sexy" and "flirtatious."
Their messages were discovered after a jealous Broadwell emailed Kelley with some nasty remarks over her ties to Petraeus.
The same email led the FBI to uncover Broadwell's affair with the former CIA director, who was honored by the Kelley family last year at their home. Kelley initially sent the email to FBI Agent Frederick Humphries, who launched the investigation.
Leaving no one touched by the scandal unscathed, even Humphries raised eyebrows this week when word got out that he had sent Kelley a shirtless photo of himself. It turned out, however, that the photo was a goofball shot Humphries sent to Kelley — and scads of other friends and acquaintances.
In the photo, the FBI agent poses between two shirtless target dummies after working out at MacDill. The caption reportedly jokes "Which One's Fred?"
Allen, meanwhile, has agreed to cooperate with the investigation and ordered his staff to do the same.
Kelley has been barred by the Pentagon from visiting MacDill Air Force Base, but several servicemen on the base said she was a constant presence at MacDill — with most of her attention focused on chests with lots of medals. "She didn't give a s--- about the low ranks," said one resident of the base. "She wanted the stripes."
Broadwell, 40, spent another day in seclusion. At her brother's home in Washington, two visitors stopped by carrying a plastic bag filled with kids' clothes and other items.
The West Point graduate and her husband have two boys, ages 4 and 6.
Panetta, speaking at a Bangkok news conference, said he was unaware of any other Army bigwigs who were linked to the sordid saga.
Ruppersberger said he will have one very specific question for Petraeus — and it will have nothing to do with Kelley or Broadwell.
"I will ask him . . . 'Gen. Petraeus, did your resignation have anything to do with the fact that you were supposed to testify before Congress?' " said the Maryland Democrat.
"And the answer that I know, that I've been told, is, 'No, not at all.' "
Much of the attention focused on Petraeus' affair, but Ruppersberger said it was important for the ex-top spy to discuss Benghazi.
mlysiak@nydailynews.com
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