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Trump Meets with Ex-CIA Chief Petraeus as Possible Secretary of State

by Ken Schwartz

   President-elect Donald Trump met with another possible candidate for
   secretary of state Monday, and one who is likely to raise some tough
   questions from the U.S. Senate -- former CIA chief and retired general
   David Petraeus.

   Before leading the CIA, Petraeus was top U.S. commander in Iraq and led
   NATO forces in Afghanistan.

   But he was forced to resign from the CIA in disgrace in 2012 after
   leaking classified information to his biographer, with whom he was
   having an affair.

   Trump, Petraeus meet for hour

   Despite Petraeus' past, Trump tweeted that he was "very impressed" with
   the retired general.

   Petraeus told reporters he met with Trump in the president-elect's
   Manhattan office tower for about an hour.

   "He basically walked us around the world, showed a great grasp of a
   variety of the challenges that are out there and some of the
   opportunities as well ... we'll see where it goes from here."

   Despite his long experience as a top U.S. military commander and
   intelligence chief, Petraeus likely will face tough questions about his
   integrity from the Senate, which must approve a president's choice of
   secretary of state.

   "Collateral Damage," a book by Jill Kelley, says former CIA Director
   David Petraeus confided in emails that he had committed "something
   terrible and dishonorable" by having an affair.

   Giuliani interested in post

   Petraeus was fined $100,000 and given two years' probation after
   pleading guilty to charges of mishandling classified information.

   Trump had complained that while the FBI failed to prosecute Hillary
   Clinton for her mishandling of classified information, Petraeus was
   punished for a lot less.

   Trump is reported to be considering a group of other politicians and
   diplomats as his secretary of state. They include former New York Mayor
   Rudy Giuliani, who is said to be highly interested in the job, former
   U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, Republican Chairman of the Senate Foreign
   Relations Committee Bob Corker, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt
   Romney.

   The possibility of Romney is causing some controversy in the Trump
   transition camp and among Trump supporters.

   The former governor and 2012 Republican nominee criticized Trump during
   the campaign as a "fraud" and "con man," and refused to publicly
   endorse him.