Urgent: Fox First: Smith asks for answers from Mueller/Holder on Petraeus
Per Pergram-Capitol Hill
Fox has obtained two letters by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller asking 15 specific questions and wanting answers by November 26.
With the assistance of the talented Constance McDonough, the first letter (to Mueller) is below…with the other one coming.
Smith asks Mueller when the inquiry into Petraeus began, when did the FBI first become aware relations between Petraeus and Broadwell, did they notify the president and when, did they conclude if Petraeus is a subject of “any criminal or intelligence-related investigation” and so on.
They also want FBI officials be made available to talk about this to Congress before December 3.
Full letters below.
===========================
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
NOVEMBER 13,2012
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
US Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Attorney General Holder,
Since the resignation of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director David Petraeus on Friday, Nov 9, it has become clear that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an investigation this summer that uncovered his extramarital affair with a journalist as well as possible breaches of security. However, White House and Congressional officials were reportedly first notified of the investigation and it’s connection to General Petraeus just last week.
According to media reports, the investigation that uncovered General Petraues’s extramarital affair and led to his resignation began as early as June of this year when the FBI was asked to investigate allegations of harassing emails and potential cyber-stalking. Reports suggest that you first learned of the investigation in late summer. However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI reportedly did not notify Obama Administration and Congressional officials of the investigation and it’s connection to General Petraeus until Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was notified at 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 6, 2012. President Obama was reportedly not notified until Thursday, November 8.
Accordingly, I write to seek clarification of the timeline of the investigation.
Please respond to the following questions and requests by November 26, 2012:
1. On what date did the investigation begin?
2. On what date did the investigation first implicate classified intelligence information?
3. On what date did the FBI first become aware of contrast between Mrs. Broadwell and General Petraeus?
4. When were you first notified of the investigation? When were you first notified of General Petraeus’s involvement in the investigation?
5. Did you or anyone within the Justice Department notify the President or anyone within the White House of the investigation? If so, on what date?
6. To the extent that there was a gap between the date that you were first notified and White House officials were first notified, why was there such a delay?
7. Did you discuss the investigation or whether to disclose the investigation with FBI Director Mueller? If so, please provide the date and describe the nature of those discussions.
8. Please provide the names of all individuals outside the Department of Justice and the FBI with whom the Department of Justice personnel discussed the investigation before Director Clapper was notified, and the dates of those discussions.
9. Please provide all legal analysis conducted within the Department regarding whether you were obligated by the National Security Act or other law to report the investigation to any person outside the Department and the FBI.
10. When did the Department first engage in an analysis of potential obligations to disclose the investigation to persons outside of the DOJ or FBI?
11. When did the Department of Justice make the decision to notify Obama Administration officials or Congress about the investigation?
12. Has the Department concluded that General Petraeus is not the subject of any criminal or intelligence-related investigation? If so, on what date did it reach that conclusion?
13. Is the Department pursuing an investigation into allegations that Ms. Broadwell was in possession of classified materials and the source of those materials? Is General Petraeus a person of interest or subject of any such investigations?
14. Please provide any other information that would aid the Committee in reconstructing the timeline of the investigation and the decision by the Department and the FBI to delay notifying outside individuals about the investigation.
15. Please make the Department of Justice officials and supervisors with the greatest knowledge of the investigation’s timeline and the Department’s decision regarding when to disclose the investigation available for interviews on or before December 3, 2012.
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Sincerely,
Lamar Smith
Chairman
Cc: The Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member
========================
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
NOVEMBER 13,2012
The Honorable Robert S. Mueller, III
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Washington, DC 20535
Dear Director Mueller,
Since the resignation of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director David Petraeus on Friday, Nov 9, it has become clear that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an investigation this summer that uncovered his extramarital affair with a journalist as well as possible breaches of security. However, White House and Congressional officials were reportedly first notified of the investigation and it’s connection to General Petraeus just last week.
According to media reports, the investigation that uncovered General Petraeus’s extramarital affair and led to his resignation began as early as June of this year when the FBI was asked to investigate allegations of harassing emails and potential cyber-stalking. Attorney General Holder was reportedly notified of the investigation in late summer. However, Congress and Obama Administration officials outside the FBI and Department of Justice were not notified of the investigation and its connection to General Petraeus until Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was notified at 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 6, 2012. President Obama was reportedly not notified until Thursday, November 8.
Accordingly, I write to seek clarification of the timeline of the investigation.
Please respond to the following questions and requests by November 26, 2012:
1. On what date did the investigation begin?
2. On what date did the investigation first implicate classified intelligence information?
3. On what date did the FBI first become aware of contrast between Mrs. Broadwell and General Petraeus?
4. When were you first notified of the investigation? When were you first notified of General Petraeus’s involvement in the investigation?
5. Did you or anyone within the FBI notify the President or anyone within the White House of the investigation? If so, on what date?
6. To the extent that there was a gap between the date that you were first notified and White House officials were first notified, why was there such a delay?
7. Did you discuss the investigation or whether to disclose the investigation with Attorney General Holder? If so, please provide the date and describe the nature of those discussions.
8. Please provide the names of all the individuals outside the Department of Justice and the FBI with whom FBI personnel discussed the investigation before Director Clapper was notified, and the dates of those discussions.
9. Please provide all legal analysis conducted within the FBI regarding whether you were obligated by the National Security Act or other law to report the investigation to any person outside the Department of Justice and the FBI.
10. When did the FBI first engage in an analysis of potential obligations to disclose the investigation to persons outside of the DOJ or FBI?
11. When did the FBI make the decision to notify Obama Administration officials or Congress about the investigation?
12. Has the FBI concluded that General Petraeus is not the subject of any criminal or intelligence-related investigation? If so, on what date did it reach that conclusion?
13. Is the FBI pursuing an investigation into allegations that Ms. Broadwell was in possession of classified materials and the source of those materials? Is General Petraeus a person of interest or subject of any such investigations?
14. Please provide any other information that would aid the Committee in reconstructing the timeline of the investigation and the decision by the Department of Justice and the FBI to delay notifying outside individuals about the investigation.
15 Please make the FBI officials and supervisors with the greatest knowledge of the investigation’s timeline and the FBI’s decision regarding when to disclose the investigation available for interviews on or before December 3, 2012.
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Sincerely,
Lamar Smith
Chairman
cc: The Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member
