US lawmakers back Petraeus over leak probe

Two prominent US lawmakers have come to the defence of David Petraeus, the retired general and former CIA chief under an FBI investigation for allegedly leaking classified information to his former mistress.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the FBI and federal prosecutors have recommended that felony charges be brought against Petraeus, whose exploits as the top US commander in Iraq and Afghanistan made him one of America's most celebrated generals.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in television interviews on Sunday that no decision would be made in the case until all the evidence was in, but declined further comment.

Pressure rose, however, for a quick resolution of the matter from the general's admirers in Congress.

"This man has suffered enough, in my view," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who told CNN's State of the Union that he should not be indicted.

"He's the four-star general of our generation," she said, lauding his role in suppressing an Al-Qaeda fuelled sectarian conflict in Iraq, similar to one gripping the country today.

"People aren't perfect. He made a mistake. He lost his job as a CIA director because of it. I mean, how much do you want to punish somebody?"

The probe focuses on whether Petraeus, who resigned as CIA director in 2012, gave his lover Paula Broadwell access to his CIA email account and other highly classified information while she was writing a biography of him.

Petraeus denies he ever provided classified information to Broadwell, who was 20 years his junior.

Republican Senator John McCain, who charged that Petraeus' case had been "grievously mishandled," said he did not know whether the general should be indicted but slammed the news leak about the recommendation to charge him.

"This man is unique. He is one of the great leaders. Ask anybody who served under him," McCain said on CNN.