Paula Broadwell sent an anonymous email to General John Allen about Florida socialite Jill Kelley, as she suspected Kelley of having a romantic relationship with David Petraeus as well.
The cyber love triangle expanded as it was revealed today that John Allen was electronically connected with Paula Broadwell after he received an email from one of her dummy accounts. He then went on to tell Jill Kelley, a married mom that he denies having an affair with, who in turn reported the emails to the FBI.
Because of their respective involvement in the unfolding case, the Pentagon has requested access to the 20,000-30,000 pages of communications between John Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and Jill Kelley.
In light of the extra marital affair between Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus, Pentagon spokesmen have been quick to dismiss ideas of a similar affair between John Allen and Jill Kelley though their confirmation of some “inappropriate communication” among those thousands of pages of emails has sparked further curiosity about the nature of their relationship.
One divulged example reported in The Washington Post was John Allen’s use of the word “sweetheart” in referring to married Jill Kelley, but a senior Pentagon official said that proves nothing as the 58-year-old general is from Virginia and the word is used in the south as a platonic phrase and not one demonstrating a romantic relationship.
Jill Kelley runs in the same social circle as both David Petraeus and John Allen as she serves as an unpaid social liaison for the military and often hosts events at her million-dollar home located only a couple of miles from MacDill Air Force base. John Allen served there from July 2008 to June 2011.
John Allen, a four-star Marine general, succeeded David Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan in July 2011.
Paula Broadwell reportedly sent the emails from dummy accounts she had set up to Jill Kelley, FoxNews.com reported.
Spooked by the bullying in her inbox, Jill Kelley notified the FBI.
A government official told the New York Post that the emails contained such language as: “I know what you did”, “back off” and “stay away from my guy”.
What followed was an intense FBI probe in which Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus – both married with two children – admitted to investigators that they had engaged in on-the-side sexual trysts.
The emails were not the first time Paula Broadwell had raised red flags while behind a computer.
Advisers to David Petraeus had become suspicious Paula Broadwell due to her playful Facebook status updates they claim disclosed sensitive details about military operations in Afghanistan.