Lawmakers question timing of Petraeus resignation

Officials say the FBI investigation into David Petraeus was triggered by a complaint from a family friend into emails sent by his biographer Paula Broadwell. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

By Kristen Welker and Pete Williams, NBC News
Updated at 12:17 a.m. ET: As more details about General David Petreaus’ alleged relationship with his biographer emerge, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed frustration, asking when the affair was discovered and who in Washington was told about it.

“We received no advance notice; it was like a lightning bolt,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said on “Fox News Sunday.” Feinstein chairs the Intelligence Committee. “We should have been told. There is a way to do it.”

Petraeus, who was appointed 14 months ago to head the Central Intelligence Agency, announced his resignation on Friday, citing an extramarital affair. Multiple government officials tell NBC News that he had a relationship with Paula Broadwell, 40, who wrote about the general’s education in her bestselling book, “All In.”

Steven Boylan, who worked for the former CIA director, told NBC News that he had spoken with Petraeus over the weekend and that he said his relationship with Broadwell lasted nine or 10 months and ended four months ago.

Of Petraeus’ wife, Holly, Boylan said that to suggest that she’s furious is an “understatement.”

On CNN, Peter King, R-N.Y., chair of the Homeland Security committee said: “It seems this has been going on for several months, but now it appears that they’re saying the FBI didn’t realize until Election Day that General Petraeus was involved. It just doesn’t add up.”

Officials tell NBC News that the affair was revealed because Broadwell sent anonymous, threatening emails to Jill Kelley, 37, described as a close friend of the Petraeus family. Kelley, who lives in the Tampa, Fla. area, was a volunteer social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

Investigating who sent the emails to Kelley, the FBI discovered the connection between Petraeus and Broadwell, officials say.

Petraeus was interviewed in late October, officials told NBC News. But it wasn’t until Thursday that he met with President Barack Obama, who accepted his resignation on Friday.

The woman who complained of being harassed by Paula Broadwell, General David Petraeus' biographer, has been identified as Jill Kelley, 37, a senior official tells NBC News. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

Lawmakers question the timing not just because the news was delivered so soon after the elections, but because Petraeus was scheduled to testify Thursday about the attacks on the Benghazi, Libya consulate that resulted in the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Those lawmakers argue that Petraeus is the key to receiving answers about the attacks.

A senior law enforcement official tells NBC News that the investigation was “overseen carefully.”

"The investigation had to take a certain path, step by step. Things needed to be explored, and there were sensitivities to observe,” the official said.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., however, said that he was earlier told about the situation by an FBI employee.

"I was contacted by an FBI employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain (FBI Director Robert) Mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security,” Cantor said in a statement.

“A senior law enforcement official says a call to a congressional staffer came from an agent who was initially involved in the investigation but who was later removed from the case because he knew an associate of one of the people being investigated. The agent knew someone on the Hill and called that person, a Republican staffer, according to the official. But that phone call had no effect on either the course of the investigation, the involvement of FBI Director Robert Mueller -- who was following it closely long before Cantor called him -- or the decision to notify Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, the official says.”

Meanwhile, Boylan told NBC News in an interview on Saturday that he was “very surprised and shocked” at the news.

"He's not perfect, he's made a mistake," Boylan said. “I don’t know if ‘let down’ would be right word … my first reaction was disbelief and then wondering if there wasn't somebody out there was spinning something to try to do some kind of harm 'cause that's happened in the past.”

Boylan said he interacted with Broadwell during the early stages of research for her book. He said he didn’t recall Petraeus ever commenting to him about Broadwell.

“Based on my initial contact with her on email, telephone, she sounded driven, she seemed smart on the topic,” he said. “Anyone probably doing their dissertation knows the rigors of research and is going to have to be dedicated in that direction.”

NBC News has been unable to reach Petraeus, Broadwell or Kelley for comment.

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Posted: 7:12 a.m. Monday, Nov. 12, 2012
By ADAM GOLDMAN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As questions swirl about the extramarital affair that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus, the retired general and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, have been quiet about details of their relationship. However, information has emerged about the woman who received the emails from Broadwell that led to the FBI's discovery of Petraeus' indiscretion.

A senior U.S. military official identified the second woman as Jill Kelley, 37, who lives in Tampa, Fla., and serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located.

In a statement Sunday, Kelley and her husband, Scott, said: "We and our family have been friends with Gen. Petraeus and his family for over five years. We respect his and his family's privacy and want the same for us and our three children."

The military official who identified Kelley spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. He said Kelley had received harassing emails from Broadwell, which led the FBI to examine her email account and eventually discover her relationship with Petraeus. The FBI contacted Petraeus and other intelligence officials, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asked Petraeus to resign.

A former associate of Petraeus confirmed the target of the emails was Kelley, but said there was no affair between the two, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the retired general's private life. The associate, who has been in touch with Petraeus since his resignation, said Kelley and her husband were longtime friends of Petraeus and his wife, Holly.

Attempts to reach Kelley were not successful. Broadwell did not return phone calls or emails.

The Petraeus news caught much of Washington by surprise and members of Congress said Sunday they want to know more details about the FBI investigation that revealed the extramarital affair between Petraeus and his biographer. They questioned when the retired general popped up in the FBI inquiry, whether national security was compromised and why they weren't told sooner.

"We received no advanced notice. It was like a lightning bolt," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday."

Petraeus, 60, quit Friday after acknowledging an extramarital relationship. He has been married 38 years to Holly Petraeus, with whom he has two adult children, including a son who led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan as an Army lieutenant.

Broadwell, a 40-year-old graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and an Army Reserve officer, is married with two young sons.

Petraeus' affair with Broadwell will be the subject of meetings Wednesday involving congressional intelligence committee leaders, FBI deputy director Sean Joyce and CIA deputy director Michael Morell.

Petraeus had been scheduled to appear before congressional committees on Thursday to testify about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. Morell was expected to testify in place of Petraeus, and lawmakers said he should have the answers to their questions.

But Feinstein and others didn't rule out the possibility that Congress will compel Petraeus to testify about Benghazi at a later date, even though he's relinquished his job.

Clapper was told by the Justice Department of the Petraeus investigation at about 5 p.m. on Election Day, and then called Petraeus and urged him to resign, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

FBI officials said the congressional committees weren't informed until Friday, one official said, because the matter started as a criminal investigation into harassing emails allegedly sent by Broadwell to Kelley.

Concerned that emails Petraeus exchanged with Broadwell raised the possibility of a security breach, the FBI brought the matter up with him directly, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

Petraeus decided to quit, though he was breaking no laws by having an affair, officials said.

Staffers for Petraeus said Kelley and her husband were regular guests at events he held at Central Command headquarters.

A U.S. official said the coalition countries represented at Central Command gave Kelley an appreciation certificate on which she was referred to as an "honorary ambassador" to the coalition, but she has no official status and is not employed by the U.S. government.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly, said Kelley is known to drop the "honorary" part and refer to herself as an ambassador.

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FGS! Just got off the phone w/my mother who voted for Romney. She is blaming Obama for Petraeus stepping down. WTH?? It's NOT Obama's fault. This is what I cannot Stand about uninformed people who immediately ASSUME Everything is Obama's fault!

Lawmakers press for Petraeus testimony on Libya, despite resignation over affair

Published November 12, 2012
FoxNews.com

Lawmakers and other officials, after getting over the shock of Gen. David Petraeus' sudden resignation Friday, are increasingly coming to at least one consensus -- the former CIA director's personal indiscretions are no reason to prevent him from testifying to Congress about the Libya attack.

Petraeus had originally been set to testify in a pair of closed hearings Thursday before the House and Senate intelligence committees. In the wake of Petraeus' resignation over an extramarital affair, he is no longer expected to appear at that hearing -- Acting Director Mike Morrell will testify instead.

Officials now indicate they may seek Petraeus' testimony regardless, perhaps not this week but in the future.
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden, who served under the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News it's "important" for Petraeus to answer questions on this matter.

"Petraeus will have a personal insight into this because he did visit Libya after the attack. ... I think he owes it to the committees to share those insights with them," Hayden said Monday.

Hayden said Petraeus should have some "personal space" this week, adding it's not "critical" he testify Thursday and voicing some confidence in Morrell's ability to answer lawmakers' questions in the near-term.

But some lawmakers made clear they will aggressively pursue Petraeus' testimony going forward.

"He's going to have to (testify)," Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., told Fox News shortly after the resignation was announced. "There's no way we can get to the bottom of Benghazi without David Petraeus. So while he may not be around next week because he's got personal matters, the week after that and the week after that and the week after that, this excuse will run stale."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, also said there's "no reason" why Petraeus shouldn't still testify.

Petraeus is considered important as part of Congress' examination into Libya for several reasons. One of the buildings that was attacked that night, it was later revealed, was a CIA outpost staffed by CIA personnel. Lawmakers may have questions about what the CIA was doing in Benghazi -- but they also have questions about Petraeus' initial Sept. 14 briefing in which, according to sources, he characterized the attack as more consistent with a flash mob, where the militants showed up spontaneously with RPGs. Lawmakers at the briefing said that Petraeus seemed wedded to the narrative that the attack was linked to a demonstration and was spontaneous as opposed to pre-meditated.

Other administration officials, including Vice President Biden, have indicated that initial claims the attack was spontaneous were based on intelligence at the time.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said on "Fox News Sunday" she sees "absolutely" no connection between the director's resignations and the unanswered questions about the Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

But she said "we may well" ask to hear from Petraeus himself sometime in the future.

"I think we should have this first hearing ... and then, the committee will make the decision," she said.

The California Democrat told "Fox News Sunday" she found out about Petraeus' resignation Friday as the rest of world learned the news and described being shocked and "heartbroken."

"We will investigate why the committee didn't know," Feinstein said. "We should have been told."

A similar, closed-door House intelligence committee hearing also is scheduled for Thursday. Plus the House Foreign Affairs Committee has set up a hearing.

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I agree. He Should testify. Affair or NOT.

He absolutely needs to testify no matter who he slept with or who he didn't!
Here we go again...... I'm just sayin'.......

As this whole thing is unfolding before all of our eyes it just goes to prove that a female has so much power over even a man such as Petraeus and Gen Allen, flipping amazing! Men are just so powerless when it comes to a (younger in this case) woman and no matter how intelligent and powerful they are they lose all their brains... or do I say at least their the one brain in their heads....
Of course this is all

My take (not that anyone asked). He had an affair. It happens. This does not take away all the knowledge this man holds..all the medals, the sacrifice, the intelligence. He is HUMAN!

I think he really did not want to step down but knew he must. It's sad. I feel for him..I feel for his wife and kids. MOO.

Posted on Nov 15, 2012 @ 05:45AM
By Alexis Tereszcuk - Radar Entertainment Editor

As the David Petreaus sex scandal grows, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that, along with Monica Lewinsky’s crisis management person and John Edwards' attorney taking part in the saga, the Casey Anthony private investigator has now become involved in the salacious situation.

Paula Broadwell, whose affair with Petraeus caused him to resign from his post as the CIA Director last week, was busted after she accused Tampa socialite Jill Kelley of having an illicit relationship with the former General, and Kelley went to the FBI who launched the probe and discovered Broadwell's own dalliances.

Kelley’s 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails to U.S. Army General John Allen and her relationship with him are now under investigation, as well as the two Generals writing letters on behalf of Kelley's twin sister Natalie Khawam to aid in her custody battle, and Kelley has hired the Lewinsky and Edwards' teams to represent her in her time of need.

Meanwhile, Dominic Casey, of D&A Investigations Inc. has been contacted by someone on Khawam’s ex-husband’s legal team to find out exactly what her relationship was with the Generals.

Dominic Casey confirmed exclusively to RadarOnline.com that he has been “contacted to investigate Natalie’s relationship with General John Allen, General Petraeus and other high ranking military officials.”

Casey was the investigator hired by Cindy and George Anthony to help find her missing granddaughter Caylee Anthony and he testified in the Casey Anthony trial.

Khawam and her ex-husband Grayson Wolfe have had a nasty divorce and custody battle over their four-year-old son. Both General Petraeus and General Allen wrote letters extolling her virtues to the judge, however she subsequently lost custody of her young son.

A source told RadarOnline.com that a lawyer from Khawam’s ex-husband’s camp contacted Casey, but he refused to confirm this to RadarOnline.com.

The source said: “It is incredible where this investigation might be going. There are a lot of high ranking people who might be brought down over this scandal.”

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I am literally SPEECHLESS!

The Petraeus Sex Scandal Has Enough Material for a Novel, a Screenplay, Two Short-Stories, and a Crude Message Spray-Painted on an Overpass

Posted: 11/14/2012 3:00 pm

If I were a responsible, dedicated citizen, I would be more concerned with national security and chain-of-command issues than with the lurid details of the sex scandal itself. That's a fact. I'd be more concerned with the larger picture. But I'm not a responsible, dedicated citizen. I'm more or less a lecher, a pilgrim whose idea of serious literature is Jackie Collins.

And to me, this David Petraeus escapade is simply too bizarre, too titillating, too mind-boggling to leave alone. It's like catnip to a cat.

Just consider what we know so far. America's top soldier -- its most admired and revered military hero, a man renowned for his integrity, the holder of a Ph.D. in International Relations from Princeton University, married for 38 years, and the head of the world's most formidable intelligence agency -- is found to be having an affair with a woman 20 years his junior, the mother of two young sons, whose husband is a physician.

She's not only a married woman and mother (a self-described "soccer mom"), but she's a runner, a former homecoming queen, a West Point grad, a Ph.D. candidate, and the author of a biography of Petraeus himself. In fact, it was while conducting research for her book that she and the general first met and, alas, eventually jungled-up.

Then we learn that this 40-year old woman, Paula Broadwell -- her high school valedictorian and, in addition to West Point, a Harvard graduate as well -- sent threatening emails to another woman, one Jill Kelley, a fetching, 37-year old Tampa socialite, warning her to stay the hell away from Petraeus. The plot thickens.

While there is absolutely no evidence so far indicating that Petraeus and Kelley were romantically involved, we still have a ways to go in the investigation. Considering the number of oddities that have already been revealed, who knows what will turn up?

But there's more, way more. Next, we learn that another soldier, General John Allen, the officer who replaced Petraeus as commander in Afghanistan, is alleged to have sent as many as 30,000 pages of emails to Jill Kelley, the fetching Tampa socialite whom Broadwell had threatened. I don't care how fast a typist you are, 30,000 pages is one prodigious body of work. More to the point, what could one possibly say in 30,000 pages of emails?

But there's more. Then we learn that one of the FBI agents investigating the case is suspected of having sent shirtless photos of himself to Kelley, the Tampa socialite. Really? An FBI agent took off his shirt, photographed himself, and then sent the shirtless photos to the same young woman who had received those 30,000 pages of emails from General Allen?

You couldn't make this stuff up. Call me wildly ambitious, but my hope, my dream, is that we find out that David Petraeus was born in Kenya, that Anthony Weiner has sent photos of his penis to both Broadwell and Kelley, and that at some point in this story the Kardashians get involved. I'm telling you, this stuff is like catnip to a cat.

David Macaray, an LA playwright and author ("It's Never Been Easy: Essays on Modern Labor," 2nd Edition), was a former labor union rep.

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By KEVIN DOLAK (@kdolak) and SUNLEN MILLER (@sunlenmiller)
Nov. 15, 2012
Declaring it the first step in a long fact-finding mission, the Senate Intelligence Committees met for just under four hours today, hearing testimony from acting CIA director Mike Morell and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, among others, about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

On Friday morning, former CIA director David Petraeus is set to head to Capitol Hill to testify before the Senate and House intelligence committees about the attack on Benghazi, which led to multiple deaths, including that of Ambassador Chris Stevens.

During the closed-door briefing today, the committee members saw a film put together by the National Counterterrorism Center of the events in Benghazi. Also testifying today were FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce, Under Secretary of State for Management Pat Kennedy, and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen.

"The film is a composite from a number of sources. It is real-time and does begin from when before the incident started and it goes through the incident and the exodus," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

She added that the footage includes video shot from an unmanned aerial vehicle. But she did not answer whether the video showed Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in the assault on the compound.

Petraeus's testimony is much anticipated.

"Director Petraeus went to Tripoli," Feinstein said. "He interviewed many people, as I understand it, that were involved and so the opportunity to get his views is very important."

Feinstein would not comment on the CIA's inspector general investigation into Petraeus' conduct regarding an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell.

"The purpose of this hearing is Benghazi," Feinstein said of Friday's hearing with Petraeus. "We're not going into the FBI investigation or the inspector general or anything else. This is Benghazi."

Petraeus, who resigned last week after disclosing an extramarital affair, is expected to defend the CIA's actions during the attack that killed Stevens and three other Americans.

The retired Army general, who once commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan, reportedly is eager to set out a timeline of events leading up to and during the deadly attack.

Spokesmen for the committee have said that the hearing will be closed to the public. Petraeus is not expected to discuss his resignation or the affair with Broadwell.

The week after next, the committee will resume with another two full hearings. Feinstein predicted that the committee will then have an open, public hearing .

"Gosh, we know mistakes were made," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., ranking member of the committee. "At the end of the day, our committee is going to get to the bottom of this."

Adm. William H. McRaven, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command and the planner of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2010, on Wednesday night called Petraeus "an American hero." The praise came at The Hero Summit, an event honoring the military sponsored by Newsweek-Daily Beast.

"[Petraeus ] was the finest general I ever worked for, period." McRaven said. "I don't condone what he did, because Holly Petraeus is also a great American hero."

During the interview with Charlie Rose, McRaven also touched on Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the second top military official, who has become embroiled on the Petraeus scandal for his relationship with Florida socialite Jill Kelley, who received threatening emails from Broadwell. McRaven said he believes Allen's veracity will shine through.

Allen, a four-star Marine general, is being investigated by the Pentagon's inspector general for "potentially inappropriate" emails with Kelley, a Tampa, Fla.-area military supporter.

"[Allen is] the finest officer in the U.S. military right now, and he is a man of incredible integrity, and I think the facts will bear that out," McRaven said.

President Obama said earlier this week that he continues to have "faith" in Allen, according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

FBI Vet Who Started Petraeus Email Probe ID'd

A new piece of the Petraeus case puzzle fell into place overnight with the identification of the FBI agent who pushed so hard to open the investigation into the emails sent by Broadwell that ultimately led to the discovery of the Petraeus' extramarital affair.

In May, Kelley began to get a series of emails that made her think someone was stalking her and her friend Petraeus, then the director of the CIA. Kelley then went to an FBI agent she knew personally, Fred Humphries, whose lawyer told ABC News he was the agent who helped launch the investigation and then later went to Congress when he thought there was a cover-up.

"If we hadn't had an individual that apparently believed in right and wrong with no gray, we may never have gotten to where we are in the case today," former FBI special agent and ABC News consultant Brad Garrett told "Good Morning America."

The FBI did not tell the White House about Petraeus' affair with Broadwell until the day after the election, even though agents knew about it about a month earlier.

FBI Director Robert Mueller went to Capitol Hill Wednesday to defend the bureau's handling of the case at the same time that the president was saying he is "withholding judgment" while waiting for a full explanation, and has full confidence in the FBI.

As FBI agents continue to investigate the classified documents found in Broadwell's computer, the President said he knew of no security lapse. Obama told a news conference Wednesday that he has "no evidence at this point."

The Department of Defense has revoked Broadwell's security clearance. And at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, officials have revoked the special access clearance once given to Kelley.

Since he was named in the unfolding scandal, Agent Humphries, 47, has only been briefly seen, speeding from his home to avoid the media.

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"The FBI did not tell the White House about Petraeus' affair with Broadwell until the day after the election, even though agents knew about it about a month earlier." From above.
I think the FBI made a big mistake for not advising Obama of the situation prior to the election. They put him in a bad position with so many people who will never believe it wasn't a conspiracy involving our President. These people are going to believe just what they want to believe no matter what. Petraeus absolutely should testify asap, this has nothing to do with his affair. MOO.

Petraeus biographer tells friends she regrets damage done by her affair with former CIA chief

By Associated Press, Published: November 18 | Updated: Monday, November 19, 8:43 AM

WASHINGTON — Paula Broadwell is telling friends she is devastated by the fallout from her extramarital affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus, which led to his resignation as head of the CIA.

A person close to Broadwell said Sunday she deeply regrets the damage that’s been done to her family and everyone else’s, and she is trying to repair that and move forward. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

A group of friends and neighbors welcomed Broadwell, her husband, Scott, and their young sons back to their home in Charlotte, N.C., after Broadwell spent more than a week being hounded by media while staying at her brother’s home in Washington. The family associate said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from her neighbors.

While Petraeus has given one interview, and communicated his regret over the affair through friends and associates, this is one of the first messages to the public from Broadwell.

Broadwell is still being investigated by the FBI over classified documents found on her laptop and in her home, which investigators believe the author gathered while researching her biography of Petraeus in Afghanistan. Investigators say many of the documents are old and may no longer be classified despite their labels, and say Broadwell told them she did not get them from Petraeus.

The FBI stumbled onto their relationship after tracking anonymous emails Broadwell allegedly sent to Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, warning Kelley to stay away from Petraeus and Afghanistan war commander Gen. John Allen.

Kelley served as sort of an unpaid social liaison for Central Command, hosting parties at her and her husband’s home, where senior officers would mingle with Tampa’s elite. Officials say Kelley kept in near constant contact with Allen, and Petraeus before him, apparently trading on her friendship with the four-star commanders to advance her social status in the military-conscious community of Tampa.

The scandal widened when the Pentagon announced it was looking into that copious correspondence between Kelley and Allen, searching for possible evidence of an inappropriate relationship between the two married people. Allen’s nomination to lead the U.S. European Command has been put on hold, pending results of the investigation, though officials now concede only a handful of the emails between Kelley and Allen are of a flirtatious or questionable nature.

The FBI found no reason to further investigate Petraeus, but the CIA is now investigating whether the former director behaved inappropriately, such as possibly using agency resources to further the affair.

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I would hate to be in her shoes. Once the FBI gets into your life, nothing is sacred. Bet they are following her every move.

Aaron Kase, Lawyers.com | Nov. 30, 2012, 8:14 AM

Your Rights To Privacy When Using Technology Are A Huge Unknown

When retired four-star general and former CIA Director David Petraeus resigned from his post this month after admitting to an extramarital affair, one of the more startling revelations was that the dalliance was discovered when the FBI sifted through his private Gmail account.

The spy chief had been out-spied.

More alarming is that the average American could easily be subjected to the same snooping that Petraeus endured. According to current law, police can access email through a provider, like Yahoo or Gmail, without a warrant if the message is more than 180 days old.

The rule is a relic of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, written before legislators could dream of the explosion of technology and ubiquity of email, text messaging, online chatting and other communications that leave behind an electronic trail.

The Senate Judiciary Committee met on Nov. 29 to consider an update to the Act which would require police to get a warrant to read email or other electronic communiques.

The proposed change comes as technological advances continue to give law enforcement more efficient and invasive ways to track people, while privacy laws struggle to keep up. Citizens might be surprised to learn that their email accounts, their phones and even their houses are subject to warrant-free electronic surveillance.

Leap Frog Technology
While the Electronic Communications Privacy Act may be outdated by about 25 years, that doesn’t mean that people need give up their reasonable expectation of privacy within new technologies, argues Bruce A. Barket, a criminal law attorney with New York firm Barket Marion.

“The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution was enacted in 1791,” Barket says. “It was enacted at a point of time to deal with government intrusion and searches that they could possibly comprehend. Now we have government searches that nobody up until the last 10 years could even envision. Could you ever envision that the government could track every movement by simply calling up a cell provider?”

At times, when lawmakers have been slow to act, courts have stepped in to curb investigative excess, such as in this spring’s Supreme Court ruling that police need a warrant to place a GPS tracker on someone’s car. The court did not deign to make a decision about tracking cell phones through GPS or other technology, however, an option that law enforcement is still free to take advantage of, sans probable cause.

Barket, who was one of the attorneys to originally challenge police use of GPS devices nearly a decade ago, points out that as even newer technologies emerge, we will be caught in a never-ending loop of efforts to protect privacy from intrusions that aren’t yet governed by law.

“It’s kind of like a leap frog. Technology will not stop happening,” the attorney says. “Courts are going to have to interpret old laws and new technologies to make reasonable decisions as to what law enforcement should be allowed to do and not allowed to do. Ultimately legislators will have to catch up.”

Creep Factor
While the technologies are new, the debate is old, dating at least as far back as 1928, when the Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. United States that eavesdropping on private telephone conversations without a warrant did not constitute a Fourth Amendment violation. The ruling stood until 1967, when in Katz v. United States a different set of justices overturned the previous decision and ruled that callers do have a reasonable expectation of privacy over the telephone.

Cell phones could be the next benchmark, not only because police can see everywhere a person has been using the phone’s GPS or cell tower location information, but because if a person is arrested a vast amount of personal information stored on a smartphone could be at an officer’s fingertips.
“Someone puts data into their phone, birthdays, anniversaries, contact info, text messages, boyfriends, girlfriends, emails with all these people– you have the expectation that that information is not going to be shared with the government simply on the whim of their asking,” says Barket. “Ultimately, courts, I hope, are not going to let that happen.”

When judging what constitutes a reasonable expectation of privacy, he notes, there is an informal test as to whether police might have gone too far. “There is a creep factor,” Barket says. “How creepy does it make you feel?”

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If this is the case, I don't see WHY this has not been used in many cases we post about..in particular, Faith Willison.