According to the FBI, Paula Broadwell said that while working on her book about David Petraeus, she signed an "off-the-record" agreement that she would not write about classified information she received. FBI claimed Petraeus shared ‘top secret’ info with reporters Newly unsealed affidavit sheds light on a probe sometimes compared to that of Clinton emails.

The investigation that led CIA Director David Petraeus to resign and ultimately plead guilty to a criminal charge of mishandling classified information also uncovered evidence that he discussed highly classified information with journalists, according to a court document obtained Tuesday by POLITICO.

Requesting a search warrant for Petraeus' Arlington, Virginia home in 2013, an FBI agent told a federal magistrate the agency had two audio recordings in which the retired four-star Army general spoke with reporters about matters that authorities believed were "top secret."


"There is a recorded conversation between Petraeus and, inter alia, Washington Post reporters, which, based on the information and belief of your affiant, occurred in or about March 2011," Special Agent Diane Wehner wrote. "In the conversation, Petraeus stated, 'I would really love to be on background as a senior military officer.' Later in the recording, Petraeus discusses sensitive military campaigns and operations, some of which, on the basis of a preliminary review ... is believed to contain classified information, including information at the Top Secret level."

In recent months, Petraeus' case has become a rallying point for both sides in the roiling debate over Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server found to contain classified information. Some of the new disclosures might benefit Clinton by making Petraeus' conduct seem more problematic than previously known, but many facts about both episodes remain murky.

Wehner's newly disclosed affidavit also describes a second, undated audio recording of a conversation between Petraeus and a reporter, who is not further identified in the filing.

"During the conversation, Petraeus requested that information he provided be attributed to a 'defense official familiar with Petraeus's activities,'" Wehner wrote. "Petraeus was concerned about the sensitivity of the information he was providing, and wanted to ensure the information was not attributed to him because it would come out after he was confirmed as director of the CIA."

The audio files came from a November 2012 FBI search of the Charlotte, North Carolina, home of Paula Broadwell, Petraeus' biographer who also had an affair with the storied commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her name was deleted at the government's request from the search warrant materials made public Tuesday, but her identity is evident from details in the paperwork.

POLITICO first asked for the search warrant records last year after Petraeus pled guilty and renewed the request earlier this year when Army officials indicated all investigations into the matter were concluded.

The search of Broadwell's residence followed an investigation into a cyberstalking complaint from a Florida woman, Jill Kelley, who received anonymous emails she found threatening. The messages seemed to indicate a familiarity with the movements and schedules of senior military leaders, including Petraeus.

The ensuing investigation exposed the affair between Petraeus and Broadwell, as well as the fact that the celebrated U.S. commander in Afghanistan had kept highly classified information unsecured at his home and shared the data with Broadwell, who had a clearance as a reservist but appeared to lack formal authorization to receive the sensitive information at issue.

Petraeus resigned three days after the 2012 elections. Last year, he admitted in federal court in North Carolina to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information. He also acknowledged that he initially told the FBI he never gave Broadwell any classified information or helped her access such information, but those statements were not true.

Petraeus was sentenced to two years probation and a $100,000 fine. No charges were ever filed against Broadwell, although the military had her security clearances under review for a time. Officials recently told reporters that all investigations into the matter were closed.

Petraeus attorney David Kendall declined to comment Tuesday on the newly released document. The court gave Kendall an opportunity to protest the unsealing, but he elected not to do so.

Broadwell also declined to comment.

The affidavit unsealed Tuesday says Broadwell also "advised [the FBI] she never received classified information from Petraeus." Her lawyer, Robert Muse, also declined to comment for this story. He has said publicly he argued to the Justice Department that Broadwell was acting as a journalist when writing the book and should be immune from prosecution under Obama administration policy.

Petraeus' alleged sharing of classified information with reporters is difficult to assess from the new document alone. Journalists who have been embedded with the military say they sometimes have received access to sensitive information about upcoming operations.

According to the FBI, Broadwell said that while working on the book she signed an "off-the-record" agreement that she would not write about classified information she received. The book, "All In: The Education of David Petraeus, was cleatred by the general and other Pentagon officials, who concluded it contained no classified information.

The new affidavit provides a window into how the extensive sharing of classified information with Broadwell may have developed out of such "off-the-record" agreements, even though they don't appear to be officially authorized.

"I don’t doubt it was the practice, but it is outside the bounds of formal policy," said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists. "One can see how Petraeus might have been led to proceed further along the path of providing additional information on the condition it not be quoted. He was bending a rule that had already been bent."

In addition, senior officials usually have the power to classify and declassify information. And some agency leaders and spokespeople have acknowledged they sometimes directly or indirectly confirm classified information in an effort to prevent the publication of other, more sensitive information. It's unclear if Petraeus' actions fit into any of these scenarios.

The FBI affidavit also indicates that investigators believed Petraeus "likely" agreed to help Broadwell gather classified information from others. In 2011, Broadwell wrote to an Army lieutenant colonel seeking details about his unit's operations. The officer replied by asking for "a good SIPR number," referring to a government network for handling classified information.

"If you have classified material, Gen Petraeus has been gracious enough to allow me to have you send the storyboards and material to his SIPR account; I'll pick them up as soon as you send the word! I've copied him on this email," Broadwell wrote.

In another email described in the filing, Broadwell seems to pledge to treat with discretion any sensitive files Petraeus shared. "I'll protect them. And I'll protect you," she wrote.

In the current controversy over Clinton's use of a private email server, her critics have often described her actions as far more serious than Petraeus'. They argue that her receipt and transmission on an unsecure system of emails now deemed classified may have allowed foreign governments or hackers to gain access to American government secrets. Some observers have noted that the public charges against Petraeus only indicated that he shared classified information with Broadwell, who had a security clearance but appeared to lack the required need-to-know.

However, the newly-disclosed affidavit raises the possibility of improper disclosures to others beyond Broadwell, such as the journalists mentioned. In addition, the FBI submission says Broadwell and Petraeus corresponded about classified information via email. "What part of 4...is secret? The stuff in parenthesis, or the second sentence?" Broadwell wrote to the general in a May 12, 2011 message. The affidavit, as redacted, doesn't indicate whether the email accounts in question were authorized for handling classified information or whether any substantive information was discussed.

Wehner's affidavit also says both Broadwell and Petraeus acknowledged during the cyberstalking investigation that "they used covert methods" to keep in touch, including a variety of email accounts and "pre-paid cellular telephones," commonly called "burner" phones. The FBI also said they were not confident they had located all the email accounts because both the general and his biographer said "they could not recall all the account names which they created and used to communicate."

The affidavit could also revive questions about whether Petraeus and other senior officials are treated too leniently in investigations about mishandling classified information. The FBI submission says investigators were pursuing potential felony violations of the Espionage Act provision barring unlawful communication of national defense information and retaining classified information without permission.

The misdemeanor plea deal reached with Petraeus after intense negotiations left some in the FBI and some prosecutors angry that the former general had gotten off too easy, the Washington Post reported earlier this year.

Nonetheless, some on Capitol Hill complained that the Justice Department brought any charges against the widely respected general. At a Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reception last year, a journalist asked former Attorney General Eric Holder to justify why Petraeus did not face felony charges in the case.

Holder, who oversaw the negotiations with Petraeus' lawyers, did not go into the specifics made public this week but he denied that the general's fame and popularity drove the decision to settle for a misdemeanor.

"There were some unique things that existed in that case that would have made prosecution at the felony level — and conviction at the felony level — very, very, very problematic," the former attorney general said last October. "In some ways, the thing that seems to distinguish the case from other resolutions is the nature of the person, the position of the person, the lawyering done for or on behalf of the person. But I can honestly tell you that was not the reason why that case was resolved in the way that it was. A felony? That would have been hard — beyond hard."