Paula Broadwell’s family and in-laws are in shock over the news that the West Point graduate and author was involved in a scandalous affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus, and her father said Sunday she is the victim of character assassination.
Paul Krantz, speaking outside his family home in North Dakota, said his daughter is caught in the middle of a story that’s just a smokescreen for something bigger, and he’s standing behind her completely.
This is about something else entirely, and the truth will come out. There is a lot more that is going to come out. You wait and see. There’s a lot more here than meets the eye.
Meanwhile, Broadwell’s in-laws also said they were caught completely off guard by the the news of her involvement in Petraeus’ resignation Friday.
“They didn’t find out about the affair until they saw it on the news Friday night,” Broadwell’s husband’s grandmother, who would only give her first name, Sylvia. She described Paula as “intelligent and really smart,” and said “she’s too smart for that.”
She said her grandson’s parents, who live in Sanibel, Fla., “felt like the rug was pulled out from under them. It’s a sad situation,” the grandmother said.
The Petraeus/Broadwell affair started in 2011, several months after he retired from the military, but ended about four months ago. And Russell Broadwell, Scott’s father, confirmed he was stunned by the news, and that he’s spoken to his son.
Paula Broadwell, 40, who wrote the biography “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus,” has not yet publicly commented on the scandal, which was uncovered the FBI received complaints she was harassing another woman thorugh Petraeus’ email account. The FBI probe uncovered exchanges between Broadwell and Petraeus that made it obvious their relationship was more than professional.
Meanwhile, several top lawmakers want more information about when President Barack Obama knew of the scandal, since he accepted Petraeus’ resignation three days after his re-election.
The scandal is spreading beyond the participants into the political arena. Several top lawmakers are demanding more information about what the FBI, the CIA and President Obama knew — and when they knew it.
Obama accepted the 60-year-old Petraeus’ resignation Friday, a mere three days after his reelection.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Steve Boylan, Petraeus’ former spokesman, told ABC News the general regrets the indiscretion.
“He hugely regrets what happened,” Boylan said. “He pretty much threw away the best job he ever had and put his family through something just too hard to describe.”