Petraeus, Broadwell both at awards dinner

David Petraeus and biographer Paula Broadwell both attended a Washington event less than two weeks before he quit the CIA, sources tell two news organizations. The two attended the annual Office of Strategic Services Society awards dinner at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington's fashionable West End Oct. 27 and were seen speaking with each other, sources told NBC News and the weekly conservative magazine Human Events, which first reported their appearance Wednesday. It is the last known meeting between the two before the scandal that cost Petraeus his job Friday went public, NBC said. The meeting occurred after Broadwell admitted to the FBI the two had an extramarital affair, government and law enforcement officials told NBC. Petraeus admitted to the affair within days of the event, NBC said. Petraeus and Broadwell are both married with children. Human Events said Petraeus and Broadwell attended the awards event as a couple, mingling together at the event's VIP reception before the dinner. As the retired four-star U.S. Army general made his way around the hotel's ballroom, Broadwell followed one pace behind, the magazine said. NBC News said numerous partygoers disputed this account. But the public proximity of the two raised questions among some in light of last week's developments. "It's mind-boggling that she could be so reckless as to show up at high-profile events like this, shortly after learning the FBI was investigating their affair," a former senior U.S. intelligence official who attended the dinner told NBC. OSS Society Director Charles T. Plinck had no immediate comment. The dinner by the group, named for the CIA's World War II predecessor organization, recognized former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Robert Gates with the William J. Donovan Award for distinguished U.S. service. Donovan, who died in 1959, was the wartime OSS chief and is known as the "father of central intelligence." Petraeus, who received the Donovan award in 2009, was described to NBC as being in a "great mood" the night he and Broadwell were at the dinner. He gave one of the speeches honoring Gates, NBC and Human Events said.