Penn Jillette talks Petraeus sex scandal, blackmail

>>> i have no evidence at this point from what i've soeen that classified information was disclosed that would jeopardize our national security . we are safer because of the work that dave petraeus has done and my main hope right now is that he and his family are able to move on and that this ends up being a single side note on what has otherwise been an extraordinary career.

>> that was president obama speaking publicly about general david petraeus 's problems with sex, lies and e-mail. tonight we found out the name of jill kelley's shirtless fbi agent friend who helped get this whole investigation started, the investigation into broadwell's e-mail, frederick humphreys . . he told house majority leader kantor about the investigation. kantor was asked about this during his press conference today.

>> i received information from an individual who i had not met before, did not know. the information that was sent to me sounded to me as if there was a potential for a national security vulnerability. i had no way of corroborating the story that i was told and felt that the best thing to do at the time was not to politicize it but to put national security first.

>> penn , i know you doesn't follow every twist and turn in washington. that guy you were just watching, eric cantor , he has not yet been caught in a sex scandal . there's about a dozen of them who have not actually yet --

>> okay.

>> your new book "every day is an atheist holiday," the promo will be that i just kind of leave it here. i'll lean on it.

>> thank you.

>> it has in here a story of penn being blackmailed for what includes the sexual component and you going straight to the fbi .

>> i also am the person most protected about blackmail possible. i am completely honest with my wife about everything.

>> here's a moment i remember on bill maher 's show, there was some sex scandal out there in washington and you on the show said i have done everything that everyone in every sexual scandal is accused of, i have done it.

>> i got this phone call blackmailing me, someone had gotten all the information from my hard drive, had asked me for money.

>> e-mails.

>> the magic secrets from the penn and teller show never sent an e-mail. apparently that's more important than this. i knew that my wife wouldn't be upset, i knew it wouldn't change my career at all. you know the first thing i did was call you and then threw up. the pressure on you when you're being blackmailed is amazing. i called the fbi immediately. they said your wife won't be upset and this won't hurt your public image and i said, yes, but people shouldn't be blackmailing other people. hearing about this, i should have all these kind of smarmy opinions on it but all i think about it is what you feel, even when you're safe when someone knows personal stuff about you is horrifying. it's terrify ing.

>> but also one of the points you make in this book and elsewhere that the horrible scandal at the center of this story is really just people not being honest with each other, husbands and wives not being honest with each other about the way they live their lives.

>> and also the rest of us not admitting. i think all of this sex talk in sex happened all the time throughout history with everybody. we just have an electronic trail on it now. we can follow it all. and i think we should all just kind of grow up a little bit and say we all like having sex and that's okay.

>> but then here's the thing that gets me. you're the cia director and you know we aren't yet in that 22nd century when we all become french and we're all cool with all this stuff. since we're not there, you are crazy enough as cia director to have all these e-mails out there, all this --

>> on a gmail account. don't they have something that stands for gman has a gmail account. don't they have certainly encrypted? i know they did that weird little put it in a draft so it doesn't go across.

>> all he actually had to do to have no real record of it was just use the telephone. then will their would be some phone numbers . it's his biographer. they're going to talk.

>> penn , great blackmail story tonight.

>> i have a special good night "the last word's" best and most devoted follower in missouri, patty brock, who has been watching every episode every night we've been on. great to have you every night, patty. good night, patty.