Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam given access to White House by lawyer working for the administration
Jill Kelley, the Florida housewife at the centre of the David Petraeus scandal, was given access to the White House on three separate occasion thanks to a lawyer friend who works for the administration, according to recent reports.
Jill Kelley and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, had two “courtesy” meals in the mess at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as guests of a mid-level aide in September and October, a White House official said.
The socialite and her family also received a tour of the presidential residence on the weekend before the November 6 election.
Jill Kelley met the aid, an attorney, through her work with MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, where she also rubbed shoulders with the military’s top brass, including General David Petraeus.
David Petraeus’ biographer-turned-mistress Paula Broadwell also reportedly visited the White House before her illicit affair with Petraeus was made public following an FBI investigation launched with Kelley’s help.
Neither woman met with President Barack Obama during their visits, a White House official said.
Paula Broadwell, who was writing a book about David Petraeus and eventually became his paramour, attended meetings in June 2009 and June 2011 on Afghanistan-Pakistan policy in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is located in the White House complex, the official said.
The White House visits by Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley illustrate the wide-ranging access both women enjoyed because of their ties with David Petraeus, General John Allen and others in the close-knit military community.
Jill Kelley and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, had two courtesy meals at the White House as guests of a mid-level aide in September and October
The White House official discussed their visits on condition of anonymity because the visitors logs being cited have yet to be made public.
Tampa Bay Times reported that on November 4, two days before the presidential election and less than a week before David Petraeus tendered his resignation after acknowledging his affair with Paula Broadwell, Jill Kelley, her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, their children and her husband, Dr. Scott Kelley, went on a tour of the White House.
On October 24, Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam had lunch in the White House with a staffer, who also had breakfast with the Kelleys on September 28.
Jill Kelley was an Honorary Consul to South Korea, which is why she said she visited the White House in September.
The attorney who ushered Jill Kelley and her family through the doors of America’s most famous residence has not been identified by the White House, saying that his name will be made public once the visitor logs are released.
However, an official said the aid had gotten to know Jill Kelley through connections to MacDill.
The man worked as a civilian lawyer in Afghanistan and got to form relationships with military personnel, who invited him to MacDill where he met Jill Kelley. He now works as a lawyer in the White House.