Donald Trump 'very impressed' with David Petraeus in search for US secretary of state
Updated
President-elect Donald Trump has stepped up his search for a new US secretary of state, with the focus on David Petraeus, a former military commander in Iraq whose mishandling of classified information led to his resignation as CIA chief in 2012.
Mr Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have met with about 70 people so far as they look to shape their White House and Cabinet team before taking office on January 20.
Mr Trump's consideration of Mr Petraeus, who has also been mentioned as a contender for the top job at the Pentagon — adds a new layer of drama to his unusually public deliberations over the top diplomatic job for his administration.
Mr Trump praised Mr Petraeus, a retired general, on Twitter shortly after the hour-long meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Mr Petraeus, who led international forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $US100,000 ($133,700) last year for the unauthorised removal and retention of classified information.
He admitted sharing classified information with his biographer, with whom he was having an affair. The scandal forced Mr Petraeus to resign from the CIA in 2012.
Mr Petraeus said after meeting Mr Trump that the New York businessman "basically walked us around the world" in their discussion.
"He showed a great grasp of the variety of challenges that are out there and some of the opportunities as well," Mr Petraeus told reporters.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump plans to hold a second meeting with Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, and will also meet with Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Both men are in the running for the post.
A Republican source close to the transition team said it had appeared late last week that Mr Trump was leaning toward choosing Mr Romney as his secretary of state but that the appearance of Mr Petraeus at Trump Tower suggested the President-elect was still undecided and casting a wider net for the position.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, favoured by Trump loyalists who worked on the election campaign, remains in the mix for the job of America's top diplomat, Trump aides say.
Frances Townsend, a national security aide during the administration of Republican president George W Bush, also met Mr Trump on Monday.
Supporters and Republicans torn on secretary of state choice
Mr Petraeus' past mishandling of classified documents is unlikely to be an obstacle to Mr Trump offering him a top government post, even though he harshly criticised Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during the campaign for using a private email server while she was secretary of state.
Mr Trump often compared the prosecution of Mr Petraeus with the lack of legal action against Mrs Clinton, who was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation but never charged with any offence.
"Just based on his public statements, I think [Mr Trump] sees Petraeus as a good man who made a mistake, who did a fraction of what other people have done and received a lot more punishment," said a source who has advised the transition team on national security.
Among the Trump transition team, Mr Petraeus and Mr Romney are supported by Republicans looking for a candidate with gravitas who can unify the party, the source said.
But Kellyanne Conway, his campaign manager, has said Mr Romney would cause a backlash among his supporters, who back Mr Guiliani.
Ideological conservatives hope Mr Trump picks John Bolton, the former ambassador to the United Nations, the source said. Mr Corker is well regarded, but some in the Trump camp do not want too many senators coming into the Cabinet, the source said.
Reuters
Topics: us-elections, world-politics, united-states
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