Paula Broadwell's Husband Knew About Wife's CIA Extramarital Affair?

An anonymous letter that ran in The New York Times sparked rumors that Scott Broadwell, husband to Paula Broadwell, knew his wife was having an extramarital affair with former CIA director David Petraeus, according to reports.  

Chuck Klosterman, writer for the "Ethicist" advice column, received a letter from a reader, whose name was not disclosed, on July 13, asking for advice about his wife's affair with a "government executive" whose "role is to manage a project whose progress is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership." The reader explained that he "has watched the affair intensify over the last year," but also said that he respected the other man.

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"He is engaged in work that I am passionate about and is absolutely the right person fro the job," the reader added. "I strongly feel that exposing the affair will create a major distraction that would adversely impact the success of an important effort."

At the end, the writer wrote about the dilemma he faced: should he acknowledge the affair and "finally force closure," suffer in silence or walk away from the whole situation.

[Klosterman advised the reader not to expose the affair in a high-profile way. Click here to read what he told the reader]

The Huffington Post reported that the speculation was first brought up by CNBC's Herb Greenberg who found the letter, but New York Times magazine editor Hugo Lindgren dismissed the rumors on Saturday in a Twitter message saying, "This @theethicist column http://t.co/i3sSSb5Y (2nd Q) is NOT about the Petraeus affair, based on our factchecking. Strange, I know."

Petraeus, 60, stepped down from his position as CIA director on Friday, Nov. 9, acknowledging his affair with Broadwell. Petraeus and his wife Holly have been married for 38 years and they have two grown children. He told friends the affair began in August of 2011 after he left the army, according to ABC News.