No security breach in Petraeus affair: Obama

Obama says in a press conference that national security was not compromised, but law enforcement says otherwise.

WASHINGTON: In his first formal press conference after being elected into his second term as US President, Barack Obama gave his public reaction to the fall of CIA chief David Petraeus, saying he was not aware of a breach of national security during the affair.

"I have no evidence at this point from what I have seen that classified information was disclosed that in any way would have had negative impact on our national security," Obama told a news conference.

Washington was in shock last week after the sudden resignation Petraeus, handing another major challenge to President Barack Obama just three days after his re-election.

Petraeus, who became CIA director in 2011, said he resigned over an extramarital affair, bringing an ignominious end to a highly praised military and government career. It also came shortly before the US spy chief had been due to testify in Congress on the agency’s alleged failure to protect the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya from the deadly attack in September, which killed the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

Did Petraeus's mistress have classified data?

A computer used by Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with CIA director General David Petraeus led to his resignation, contained substantial classified information that should have been stored under more secure conditions, law enforcement and national security officials said on Wednesday.

The contents of the classified material and how Broadwell acquired it remain under investigation, said the officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to comment publicly.

But the quantity of classified material found on the computer was significant enough to warrant a continuing investigation, the officials told Reuters.