Army Revokes Paula Broadwell’s Promotion After Petraeus Affair
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ISAF via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The Army has temporarily revoked Paula Broadwell’s promotion to become a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. It was Broadwell’s affair with General David Petraeus that led to his resignation as CIA director last November.
George Wright, an Army spokesman, confirmed that Broadwell’s promotion was “revoked” earlier this month.
Broadwell was promoted to lieutenant colonel in August, and had been wearing that rank since. However, in February that promotion was “revoked in accordance with Army regulation 135-155,” said Wright.
Broadwell remains in the Army Reserve but is now authorized only to wear the rank of major and is considered a “promotable lieutenant colonel” pending the result of an ongoing investigation. Army regulations say the Army can revoke an order within six months if there is an investigation.
Wright could not discuss the details of the investigation that led to the move, but defense officials have said previously that the FBI was looking at whether Broadwell kept classified materials in her home. Those documents would have come from the research materials she was using for her biography of Petraeus.
If the investigation is closed without any action against Broadwell, her promotion to lieutenant colonel could be restored retroactively to when it was originally granted.
In November the CIA’s inspector general began an exploratory investigation into whether Petraeus had used any agency resources during his extramarital affair with Broadwell.
A CIA spokesman declined to comment Thursday on the status of that investigation.
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