Political Quick Hits: November 16th Edition
Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:
- Last Friday, CIA Director General David Petraeus resigned from his position. He cited the reasoning as his extramartial affair and “extremely poor judgment.” Petraeus told President Obama during a meeting on Thursday, and on Friday President Obama accepted his resignation. Petraeus is a four-star general who led American troops if Iraq and Afghanistan. Petraeus had an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, who is currently under FBI investigation for improperly trying to access his email and possibly gaining access to classified information. The FBI cleared Petraeus of mishandling classified information but the CIA is investigating Petraeus’ conduct post-affair. Petraeus is also set to testify this Friday morning at a closed-door House Committee on the Libya embassy attack. (CBS)
- House Speaker John Boehner was renominated as Speaker of the House this week, he will be formally elected by vote when the 113th Congress assembles in January. Also House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats this week that she plans to run again for Minority Leader in the House. The official vote isn’t until after Thanksgiving, but she is expected to be re-elected. In the Senate, Harry Reid was re-elected to lead the Democrats, and Mitch McConnell to lead the Republicans. (Reuters)
- On Wednesday, President Obama gave his first press conference since being re-elected and his first full press conference since March. President Obama talked about the fiscal cliff, climate change, Libya, and General Petraeus. The full news conference video and transcript can be found here.
- Finally, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that BP will plead guilty to corporate manslaughter charges that come from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and agreed to pay $4.5 billion in government penalties. A federal jury also returned an indictment charging the two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizon on the day of the accident with 23 criminal counts. This penalty is unprecedented and subject to a federal judicial review. (CNN Money)
