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| Jill Kelley leaves her home Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012 in Tampa, Fla. Kelley is identified as the woman who allegedly received harassing emails from Gen. David Petraeus' paramour, Paula Broadwell. She serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located. |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The sex scandal that felled CIA Director David Petraeus widened Tuesday to ensnare the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, in a suddenly public drama involving a Tampa socialite, a jealous rival, a twin sister in a messy custody dispute and flirty emails.
The
improbable story - by turns tragic and silly - could have major
consequences, unfolding at a critical time in the Afghan war effort and
just as President Barack Obama was hoping for a smooth transition in his
national security team.
Obama put a hold on
the nomination of Afghan war chief Allen to become the next commander of
U.S. European Command as well as the NATO supreme allied commander in
Europe after investigators uncovered 20,000-plus pages of documents and
emails that involved Allen and Tampa socialite Jill Kelley. Some of the
material was characterized as "flirtatious."
Allen, 58, insisted he'd done nothing wrong and worked to save his imperiled career.
Kelley,
37, who had worked herself into the center of the military social scene
in Florida without having any official role, emerged as a central
figure in the still-unfolding story that has embroiled two of the
nation's most influential and respected military leaders.
Known
as a close friend of retired Gen. Petraeus, Kelley triggered the FBI
investigation that led to his downfall as CIA director when she
complained about getting anonymous, harassing emails. They turned out to
have been written by Petraeus' mistress, Paula Broadwell, who
apparently was jealous of the attention the general paid to Kelley.
Petraeus acknowledged the affair and resigned Friday.
In
the course of looking into that situation, federal investigators came
across what a Pentagon official called "inappropriate communications"
between Allen and Kelley, both of them married.
According
to one senior U.S. official, the emails between Allen and Kelley were
not sexually explicit or seductive but included pet names such as
"sweetheart" or "dear." The official said that while much of the
communication - including some from Allen to Kelley - is relatively
innocuous, some could be construed as unprofessional and would cause a
reasonable person to take notice.
That
official, as well as others who described the investigation, requested
anonymity on grounds that they were not authorized to discuss the
situation publicly.
The FBI's decision to turn
over the Allen information to the military suggested that the bureau
found no evidence of federal criminal violations to investigate further,
such as national security breaches. Adultery, however, is a crime under
the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Allen
was not suspended from his military position, even though his nomination
for promotion is on hold. The White House will soon be deciding how
many troops will remain in Afghanistan - and for what purposes - after
the U.S.-led combat operation ends in 2014. Allen has provided his
recommendations to the White House and is key to those discussions.
Still
more subplots in the story emerged Tuesday with news that both Allen
and Petraeus wrote letters last September on behalf of Jill Kelley's
twin sister, Natalie Khawam, in a messy custody dispute. In 2011, a
judge had denied Khawam custody of her 3-year-old son, saying she
"appears to lack any appreciation or respect for the importance of
honesty and integrity in her interactions with her family, employers and
others with whom she comes in contact."
Allen,
in his letter, wrote of Khawam's "maturity, integrity and steadfast
commitment to raising her child." Petraeus wrote that he'd been host for
the Kelley family and Khawam and her son for Christmas dinner, and he
described a loving relationship with her son. That also indicated how
close the Petraeus and Kelley families had been.
Kelley
served as a sort of social ambassador for U.S. Central Command in
Tampa, hosting parties for Petraeus when he was commander there from
2008-10.
The friendship with the Petraeus
began when they arrived in Tampa, and the Kelleys threw a welcome party
at their home, a short distance from Central Command headquarters,
introducing the new chief and his wife, Holly, to Tampa's elite,
according to staffers who served with Petraeus.
Such
friendships among senior military commanders and prominent local
community leaders are common at any base, a relationship where the
officers invite local people to exclusive military events and functions,
and the invitees respond by providing private funding to support troops
with everything from morale-boosting "Welcome Home" parades to
assistance for injured combat veterans.
Petraeus
aides say Jill Kelley took it to another level, winning the title of
"honorary ambassador" from the countries involved in the Afghan war for
her extensive entertaining at her home on behalf of the command,
throwing parties that raised her social status in Tampa through the
reflected glow of the four-star general in attendance.
Petraeus
even honored Kelley and her husband with an award given to them in a
special ceremony at the Pentagon just before he left the military for
his post at the CIA, an aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to comment on the matter publicly.
White
House spokesman Jay Carney, employing understatement, was asked about
the revelations involving Allen and said Obama "wouldn't call it
welcome" news. Carney described Obama as "surprised" by the earlier news
about Petraeus.
As he prepares for a second
term, the president has hoped to run a methodical transition process,
with the goal of keeping many Cabinet members and other high-ranking
officials in their posts until successors are confirmed, or at least
nominated. Petraeus' resignation has disrupted those plans, leaving
Obama with an immediate vacancy to fill and raising questions about how
much other immediate shake-up the national security team can handle.
National
Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said Obama put Allen's
nomination on hold at the request of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The
general succeeded Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan
in July 2011, and has been working with Panetta on how best to pace the
withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Vietor said in a
written statement that Obama "remains focused on fully supporting our
extraordinary troops and coalition partners in Afghanistan, who Gen.
Allen continues to lead as he has so ably done for over a year."
The
unfolding story caused a commotion on Capitol Hill as well, as
lawmakers complained that they should have been told about the
investigation earlier.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, called the latest revelations "a Greek tragedy."
Acting
CIA Director Michael Morell met with Senate intelligence chairwoman
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and ranking Republican Saxby Chambliss of
Georgia on Tuesday, to explain the CIA's understanding of events that
led Petraeus to resign. That session came ahead of meetings with the
leaders of the House intelligence committee Wednesday, according to
congressional aides.
The chairman and top
Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee said their panel would
go ahead with Thursday's scheduled confirmation hearing on the
nomination of Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, who is to replace Allen
as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, if Allen is indeed
promoted.
Even though Petraeus has stepped
down, Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said
the retired general should testify about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S.
Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, "if he has relevant information." Sen.
Susan Collins, R-Maine, said it was "absolutely imperative" that
Petraeus testify, since he was CIA director during the attack and
visited Libya afterward.
The FBI looked into
whether a separate set of emails between Petraeus and Broadwell might
involve any security breach and concluded it did not.
The
FBI searched Broadwell's home in Charlotte, N.C., Monday night, with
her consent, according to a federal law enforcement official, who
requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak on
the record about the investigation.
The official said the FBI just wanted to make sure there were no classified documents out of government custody.
