President-elect Donald Trump has yet to announce his choice for Secretary of State, but retired Gen. David Petraeus is a fine choice, according to three Republican senators, despite his past.
In 2015, Petraeus was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $100,000 for providing his biographer Paula Broadwell, with whom he was having an affair, with classified information during his time as Director of the CIA.
"He is a very capable person, and I think it's totally reasonable that the president-elect evaluate whether he's the person that a President Trump would need to do that job," Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told The Washington Examiner. "I don't think it's disqualifying."
"For me, it's a matter of, you look at it and you put it in proper perspective, and it's a negative for him, but there are some real positives for him as well," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told The Hill of the former CIA director. "For most of us, I think we're trying to keep our powder dry.
"We'll look at all of the recommendations with at least a nod toward the new president as having the opportunity to choose the right people for the Cabinet, and we'll look at whether or not there are disqualifying issues with each one of them, just like I'm sure he'll do as well."
One dismissed the comparisons to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who Republicans repudiated for her handling of classified information.
"Unlike Secretary Clinton, we know what he did," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told The Hill. "We know what he did was wrong.
"He said it was wrong, he accepted punishment for his wrongdoing, and that's a well-defined issue. Does he have a life going forward? I think he does. . . . I would certainly support his nomination."
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