Broadwell is the author, with Vernon Loeb, of All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, a glowing 400-page biography of Petraeus, for which she was granted almost total access. About three and a half minutes into the clip, Jon Stewart and Broadwell discuss Petraeus' habit of running with her to get to know her while she was embedded with him in Afghanistan.
NBC quotes that Broadwell's Twitter account describes her as a national security analyst and Army veteran. A biography on her website, which went offline Friday evening, said she is married to a radiologist and has two children, both boys.
The family lives in Charlotte, N.C. The biography said she is a West Point graduate and a research associate at Harvard University's Center for Public Leadership and a doctoral candidate in the Department of War Studies at King's College London.
Broadwell's website is no longer up, but before it was taken down the New York Observer grabbed most of the relevant information. Only two people know how the affair started, but the world knows now about its inglorious end, CNN quotes while reporting that CIA director David Petraeus has resigned from his post.
The affair was discovered during an FBI investigation, according to officials briefed on the developments. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the matter.
It was unclear what the FBI was investigating or when it became aware of the affair. The revelation shocked Washington just three days after the re-election of US President Barack Obama and shortly before Petraeus had been due to testify on the CIA's alleged failure to properly protect of a US consulate in Libya.
He was the highest-profile military officer of the post-9/11 years, winning plaudits for his role running the "surge" in Iraq and implementing a counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan. Petraeus, who turned 60 on Wednesday, told CIA employees in a statement that he had met President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday and asked to be allowed to resign.
On Friday, Obama accepted. NBC television and other US media reported that the FBI was investigating Paula Broadwell, who published a detailed biography of Petraeus, "All In," for improper access to classified information. The resignation comes amid criticism in some quarters of Petraeus over his response to a deadly attack in September on a US consulate in Benghazi, which killed the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper hailed Petraeus, saying his "decision to step down represents the loss of one of our nation's most respected public servants." Obama said in a statement that Petraeus had provided "extraordinary service to the United States for decades" and had given a lifetime of service that "made our country safer and stronger". He called Petraeus "one of the outstanding general officers of his generation".
