Petraeus grilled on attack that killed US envoy, 3 others

Lawmakers try to determine what the intelligence community knew before, during and after the Benghazi attack

WASHINGTON — Former CIA director David Petraeus was facing lawmakers’ questions on Friday about the deadly attack on the US Consulate in Libya, just one week after he resigned over an extramarital affair.

The retired general is under investigation by the agency for possible wrongdoing in the affair, though that’s not the subject of the closed-door hearings.

The Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, which killed the US ambassador and three other Americans, created a political firestorm, with Republicans claiming that the White House misled the public on what led to the violence.

Five days after the attack, the administration sent UN Ambassador Susan Rice on the Sunday news shows to describe it as a spontaneous protest over an antiMuslim video produced in the US Rice relied on initial intelligence that proved incorrect, and she’s now under attack by some Republican senators who vow to block her if she’s nominated as secretary of state when Hillary Rodham Clinton steps down.

Investigation

Lawmakers spent hours Thursday interviewing top intelligence and national security officials in trying to determine what the intelligence community knew before, during and after the Benghazi attack.

They viewed security video from the consulate and surveillance footage by an unarmed CIA Predator drone that showed events in real time.

Petraeus was appearing first before the House intelligence committee on Friday and then its Senate counterpart and was expected to provide more details about the US response.

“Director Petraeus went to Tripoli and interviewed many of the people involved,” said Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein.

“I’d like to get his sense of why it took as long as it did to get more accurate assessments of what took place in Benghazi,” said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the House intelligence committee.

As for Petraeus testifying shortly after his resignation amid a sex scandal, Schiff said, “He’s a tough individual, and I am sure he will handle it to the best of his ability.”