Politicians to demand to know why they were left in the dark about Petraeus scandal

The political fallout from David Petraeus’ stunning resignation intensified Sunday, as Capitol Hill lawmakers said they will demand the FBI explain why congressional bigs were kept in the dark until after the news broke.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she was blindsided by reports Friday that Petraeus was leaving his post as head of the Central Intelligence Agency after the FBI uncovered his secret love affair — a major no-no for government spooks.
“We received no advance notice,” Feinstein (D-Calif.) bristled on “Fox News Sunday.”
“It was like a lightning bolt.”

The House and Senate intelligence committees are legally required to be notified of significant intelligence matters. Though the probe that led federal authorities to learn of Petraeus’ hanky-panky started months ago, the White House has insisted that President Obama didn’t learn of the affair until Thursday, when the former four-star general tendered his resignation.
Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.) expressed suspicion over why the FBI didn’t start spilling the details about Petraeus’ philandering with his biographer until after the presidential election.
“It seems this (the investigation) has been going on for several months and, yet, now it appears that they’re saying that the FBI didn’t realize until Election Day that Gen. Petraeus was involved,” said King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “It just doesn’t add up.”
The Petraeus scandal will be the subject of meetings Wednesday during which congressional intelligence committee leaders will grill FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce and CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell.
Feinstein’s committee had expected Petraeus to testify Thursday about security lapses in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11. The panel is now expected to hear testimony from Morell and others, though Feinstein said Petraeus could be called in at a later date.
With News Wire Services