The FBI started probing emails sent by Paula Broadwell to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus, in May 2012, and soon discovered that she had been in a romantic relationship with the decorated former general.
September 6, 2011:
David Petraeus was unanimously appointed to be the head of the Central Intelligence Agency after spending over 37 years in the military.
November 2011:
David Petraeus allegedly began his affair with Paula Broadwell, a former Army reservist and doctoral researcher who was writing a biography of Petraeus.
May 2012:
The FBI first officially knew that Paula Broadwall was sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus. There is no indication that Jill Kelley had any sort of romantic affair with David Petraeus, but the threatening nature of the emails from Paula Broadwell suggest that she felt threatened in some way by Jill Kelley’s close connection to David Petraeus.
End of Summer 2012:
Paula Broadwall’s affair with David Petraeus is thought to have formally ended in July, though it was not until the end of the summer that the FBI realized it was DavidPetraeus emailing Paula Broadwall because he had been using a Gmail account established under a pseudonym for their personal communications, some of which was sexually explicit in nature.
At an unspecified date at the end of the summer, the FBI investigators notified the Attorney General’s office – and Attorney General Eric Holder himself – because they needed the authority to interview Paula Broadwall and David Petraeus. In telling the AG, investigators were clear that they were looking into the possibility of pressing criminal charges against Paula Broadwell for either her threats against Jill Kelley or any illegal action that stemmed from the communication with David Petraeus.
David Petraeus allegedly began his affair with Paula Broadwell in November 2011, after he was appointed CIA director
September 2012:
Paula Broadwell was first interviewed at some point in September, when she admitted to the affair and turned over her computer.
October 2012:
In mid-October, Republican Representative David Reichert was told of a national security investigation involving David Petraeus by an unidentified FBI informant. David Reichert then forwarded that tip to Eric Cantor, the House Majority leader and the one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, on October 27. The week before the Election, late October 2012:
From there, the circle began to widen as David Petraeus himself was interviewed the week before the Election, during which he admitted the affair but said that he was not the one to give Paula Broadwall the classified documents that investigators found on her computer.
She echoed that statement during her second interview with investigators on November 2. FBI and justice department officials then discussed their findings for three days, deciding that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge either Paula Broadwall or David Petraeus on a criminal level. Election Day, November 6, 2012:
At 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, the FBI told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about their investigation, and he waited until Wednesday evening to tell White House officials that David Petraeus was considering resigning.
Thursday November 8, 2012:
It was not until Thursday that President Barack Obama was informed, and he met with David Petraeus that day but did not immediately accept his resignation, waiting until Friday to let the disgraced General quit.
In the hours before David Petraeus’ public announcement on Friday, the circle drastically widened and Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee learned of the plan.
Dianne Feinstein contacted David Petraeus and asked him whether he thought it was truly necessary for him to leave his post. Citing his belief in leadership coming from the top-down, he said it was the best thing for him to do.
US Attorney General Eric Holder is under fire as questions emerge over why he did not tell President Barack Obama that David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
Eric Holder was told by the FBI that they were investigating the relationship between the director of the CIA and Paula Broadwell in late summer, but appears not to have shared the information with anyone else.
Barack Obama did not find out about the scandal until Wednesday – just two days before David Petraeus resigned – even though multiple senior politicians had apparently been aware of it for months.
The revelation that Eric Holder knew about David Petraeus’ infidelity could increase pressure on Barack Obama to replace him when he puts together his Cabinet for the next four years.
The FBI started probing emails sent by Paula Broadwell to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus, in May 2012, and soon discovered that she had been in a romantic relationship with the decorated former general.
Towards the end of the summer, the FBI contacted Eric Holder’s office in order to seek the authority to interview Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus.
The Attorney General, a longtime ally of Barack Obama, must have known about the affair from this point, but did not tell the President about it despite the possibility it could end the career of David Petraeus, one of the most respected soldiers of his generation.
Conservatives – who have long opposed Eric Holder over his role in the botched “Fast and Furious” gun-running investigation – attacked the Attorney General over his silence.
“The idea that the White House didn’t learn of this potential problem until Election Day, I just find incomprehensible,” John Bolton, former ambassador to the UN, told Fox News.
“Did the Attorney General sit on this information for two months?”
Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz added: “Notification should have also gone to the President – immediately.”
Attorney General Eric Holder is under fire as questions emerge over why he did not tell President Barack Obama that David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell
David Petraeus’ affair: who knew what and when. The timeline of the downfall
September 6, 2011:
David Petraeus was unanimously appointed to be the head of the Central Intelligence Agency after spending over 37 years in the military.
November 2011:
David Petraeus allegedly began his affair with Paula Broadwell, a former Army reservist and doctoral researcher who was writing a biography of Petraeus.
May 2012:
The FBI first officially knew that Paula Broadwall was sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus. There is no indication that Jill Kelley had any sort of romantic affair with David Petraeus, but the threatening nature of the emails from Paula Broadwell suggest that she felt threatened in some way by Jill Kelley’s close connection to David Petraeus.
End of Summer 2012:
Paula Broadwall’s affair with David Petraeus is thought to have formally ended in July, though it was not until the end of the summer that the FBI realized it was DavidPetraeus emailing Paula Broadwall because he had been using a Gmail account established under a pseudonym for their personal communications, some of which was sexually explicit in nature.
At an unspecified date at the end of the summer, the FBI investigators notified the Attorney General’s office – and Attorney General Eric Holder himself – because they needed the authority to interview Paula Broadwall and David Petraeus. In telling the AG, investigators were clear that they were looking into the possibility of pressing criminal charges against Paula Broadwell for either her threats against Jill Kelley or any illegal action that stemmed from the communication with David Petraeus.
September 2012:
Paula Broadwell was first interviewed at some point in September, when she admitted to the affair and turned over her computer.
October 2012:
In mid-October, Republican Representative David Reichert was told of a national security investigation involving David Petraeus by an unidentified FBI informant. David Reichert then forwarded that tip to Eric Cantor, the House Majority leader and the one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, on October 27.
The week before the Election, late October 2012:
From there, the circle began to widen as David Petraeus himself was interviewed the week before the Election, during which he admitted the affair but said that he was not the one to give Paula Broadwall the classified documents that investigators found on her computer.
She echoed that statement during her second interview with investigators on November 2. FBI and justice department officials then discussed their findings for three days, deciding that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge either Paula Broadwall or David Petraeus on a criminal level.
Election Day, November 6, 2012:
At 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, the FBI told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about their investigation, and he waited until Wednesday evening to tell White House officials that David Petraeus was considering resigning.
Thursday November 8, 2012:
It was not until Thursday that President Barack Obama was informed, and he met with David Petraeus that day but did not immediately accept his resignation, waiting until Friday to let the disgraced General quit.
In the hours before David Petraeus’ public announcement on Friday, the circle drastically widened and Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee learned of the plan.
Dianne Feinstein contacted David Petraeus and asked him whether he thought it was truly necessary for him to leave his post. Citing his belief in leadership coming from the top-down, he said it was the best thing for him to do.
Paula Broadwell, the woman who had an affair with David Petraeus, denied she was in love with him in a bizarre interview with Arthur Kade she gave in the midst of their fling.
Speaking in an interview while promoting her book in February, Paula Broadwell said without prompting: “I am not in love with David Petraeus,” in what was something of a Freudian slip.
By that stage their affair was around five months having started when David Petraeus became head of the CIA in September last year. It ended around July, according to reports.
In the interview Paula Broadwell, who is married with two young sons, revealed that she had sent David Petraeus’ wife Holly a copy of her fawning biography of her husband – and claimed that she loved it.
Paula Broadwell, 40, also revealed for the first time the extent of the access that he gave her, including private papers going back 30 years.
The disclosure could reignite the debate about what information she was given access to.
If David Petraeus, 60, was prepared to show Paula Broadwell his intimate correspondence with mentors then he may have allowed her to see classified information too.
Controversially, Paula Broadwell even claims that it was David Petraeus’ idea, and not hers, to turn her dissertation project on military leadership into the book it became: All In: The Education Of General David Petraeus.
The interview was carried out by Arthur Kade, a former financial advisor turned humanitarian who also conducts celebrity interviews.
Paula Broadwell, the woman who had an affair with David Petraeus, denied she was in love with him in a bizarre interview with Arthur Kade she gave in the midst of their fling
Arthur Kade and Paula Broadwell sit in front of an open fire for 13 minutes during which she speaks at length about the book.
Paula Broadwell says: “I conducted over 700 interviews, you can appreciate how time consuming that is, and to transcribe then and I was trying to do this all on my own as a dissertation project.
“But when I realized the opportunity I had to present this portrait of strategic leadership – you know it’s not a hagiography, I’m not in love with David Petraeus, but I think he does present a terrific role model for young people, for executives, for men and women.
“There’s a great role model there who is values oriented, who speaks the truth to power, who shows great example of taking initiative and other qualities we should be all be interested in ourselves and promoting in others.”
Paula Broadwell said that she had presented David Petraeus with a copy of her book but added that “he says he hasn’t read it”.
She said: “I sent him and his wife a copy and I know his wife, Holly Petraeus, read it and she had great things to say.
“He’s tracking how the book is being received and as an academic mentor of mine, if you will, he’s proud of me.”
Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus first met in 2006 when she asked him if he could be a case study in her Harvard dissertation on military leadership.
He agreed, gave her a business card and she made multiple visits to Afghanistan to interview him – before romance finally flourished.
Turning to their relationship, Paula Broadwell said in the interview: “Our rapport increased and he decided to make it more of an official relationship, treating me like a biographer.
“I was able to look through correspondence he exchange with his mentors over three decades as a young captain and major and I was able to trace how he was thinking, the evolution of his thought about counterinsurgency, about how forces train and equip and fight and on leadership.
The resignation of David Petraeus, sparked by the revelation that the former general was having an affair with biographer Paula Broadwell, is the biggest sex scandal to hit Washington since Bill Clinton was revealed to have had “sexual relations” with Monica Lewinsky.
And the parallels between the two events are growing stronger as it has been revealed that both mistress Paula Broadwell and whistleblower Jill Kelley who exposed them have hired legal advisers who previously worked with Monica Lewinsky.
Jill Kelley, the Florida housewife who was dragged in to the scandal when she started receiving abusive emails from an anonymous source, has hired Monica Lewinsky’s crisis manager to help her deal with the publicity she is facing after the resignation of the former CIA director.
And Paula Broadwell, who carried out an affair with David Petraeus over several months after writing his biography, is being represented by an attorney from the firm which once represented Monica Lewinsky.
Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley both hire Monica Lewinsky’s aides to help deal with David Petraeus scandal
Jill Kelley has hired Abbe Lowell, the attorney who defended John Edwards earlier this year, and Judy Smith, the crisis manager who represented Monica Lewinsky after her trysts with President Bill Clinton.
Paula Broadwell’s lawyer is the Washington-based Robert F. Muse, according to ABC News, a partner at Stein, Mitchell, Muse & Cipollone, which specializes in white-collar crime.
Another of the firm’s partners is Jacob A. Stein, who was counsel to Monica Lewinsky during Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearings in 1998.
Jill Kelley, Florida socialite at the centre of the David Petraeus sex scandal, has spoken for the first time and said she is an “innocent victim”.
Jill Kelley said: “I’ve done nothing wrong. I am the victim here. But it still feels awful.”
She has been called “the other woman” in the affair leading to speculation she was romantically involved with the former CIA chief.
Jill Kelley tipped off FBI agents about the affair when she handed over a series of anonymous emails sent by Paula Broadwell warning her to stay away from David Petraeus in the summer.
The 37-year-old spoke with her brother, a lawyer, as her name first became linked to the resignation of David Petraeus.
David Khawan told the Washington Post his sister telephoned him on Sunday and told him to switch on the TV because her name was all over news broadcasts.
He said his sister told him she was totally innocent and was not the “other woman” in David Petraeus’s life.
David Khawan is quoted as saying his sister said: “I’ve done nothing wrong. I am the victim here. But it still feels awful.”
Friends of Jill Kelley, a vivacious Lebanese-born mother of three known for her love of expensive designer dresses, said that she is devoted to her family and scoffed at suggestions that she was romantically involved with David Petraeus.
“This other woman obviously read all the signs wrong,” said a friend who knows Jill Kelley from their children’s private school.
“Jill is very attractive and can be touchy-feely. That’s just the way she is and there is nothing else.”
Jill Kelley, Florida socialite at the centre of the David Petraeus sex scandal, has spoken for the first time and said she is an innocent victim
Jill Kelley, a well known figure on the social scene in her hometown of Tampa, Florida, has hired a crisis management firm and top lawyer since being linked to the scandal.
This has led to speculation that further damaging details could be revealed in the fall out from David Petraeus’s resignation.
Sources have revealed that the emails she received from Paula Broadwell were “kind of cat-fight stuff”.
Jill Kelley went to the FBI with the emails – and triggered the investigation that led to the downfall of David Petraeus and his shock resignation as CIA chief.
The source told The Daily Beast the emails were: “More like, <<Who do you think you are? … You parade around the base … You need to take it down a notch.>>”
The Wall Street Journal reported that in one of the emails Paula Broadwell asked Jill Kelley if her husband was aware of her actions.
Another accused Jill Kelley of touching David Petraeus provocatively under a table.
The source also said Jill Kelley would often accompany David Petraeus’s wife Holly on shopping trips to the International Mall in Tampa.
Jill Kelley, whose husband is a top cancer surgeon, has dodged questions from the media.
Before leaving her home she called police to the $1.3 million mansion to ask media to respect her privacy.
Jill Kelley left the home in a silver Mercedes with the registration plate “Honorary Consul” – a nod to her work as an unpaid liaison officer for the military headquarters at MacDill Airforce Base.
It was during David Petraeus’s two years in Tampa at the CENTCOM headquarters that he became friends with Jill Kelley and her husband Scott.
The friendship continued after the general left Tampa with the Kelley’s visiting the Petraeus’s home in Washington DC.
Dr. Scott Broadwell’s romantic plans he had organized to celebrate his wife Paula’s 40th birthday were abruptly shattered on Friday by the revelation that she had been having a relationship with general David Petraeus.
Paula and Scott Broadwell were enjoying a two-day break at the Middleton Inn in Little Washington, Virginia when news of the scandal broke, leading to David Petraeus stepping down as CIA director.
Sources told the Washingtonian.com that the couple had enjoyed “strenuous” bike rides, champagne and cozy dinners since arriving at the luxury inn on Thursday evening.
The Broadwells took the Ascot Room at the Manor House which is available for $295 – $475 a night. It boasts a working fireplace, four-poster bed and private marble bath.
According to sources, Dr. Scott Broadwell, a radiologist, had arranged for Champagne and a bouquet of roses for his wife’s milestone birthday.
There is plenty to do in the idyllic Blue Ridge Mountain region. Along with breathtaking scenery, perfect for hiking and bike rides, the town of Little Washington – just 70 miles from D.C. – boasts fine dining. wineries and artisan boutiques.
Scott and Paula Broadwell had enjoyed strenuous bike rides, champagne and cozy dinners since arriving at Middleton Inn in Little Washington on Thursday evening
The couple reportedly joined other guests at the Inn for breakfast – but by the time they returned from a romantic dinner on Friday evening, they were described to the magazine as “not being in very good moods”.
Scott and Paula Broadwell left abruptly on Saturday morning and were allegedly on their way to D.C. A party had also been planned for Paula Broadwell’s birthday on Saturday night – but it was cancelled.
The Broadwells have two young sons and live in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina. The family’s upmarket home has been empty since the weekend with two silver cars parked in the brick garage.
Paula Broadwell moved to Charlotte, more than three years ago with her doctor husband and their two young sons.
FBI agents are searching the Charlotte, North Carolina home of Paula Broadwell, whose affair with retired general David Petraeus led to his resignation as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Agents reportedly arrived at Paula Broadwell’s home at about 10 p.m. on Monday carrying a load of boxes. Agents appeared to be rummaging through every room of the house, taking pictures and filling boxes with various items from inside, according to reporters on the scene.
The FBI has declined to comment on the specific reason for the agents’ late-night search of Paula Broadwell’s home, which was still underway after midnight.
The search is likely related to an ongoing criminal investigation into harassing emails sent from email accounts linked to Paula Broadwell, a 40-year-old mother of two.
FBI agents are searching the Charlotte home of Paula Broadwell, whose affair with retired general David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director
Paula Broadwell sent the emails to 37-year-old Jill Kelley of Tampa, Florida, in which she cryptically warned her to stay away from David Petraeus.
Paula Broadwell, who wrote a biography on David Petraeus, was involved in an affair with the four-star general at the time and she believed that Jill Kelley was a potential love rival.
Jill Kelley, a housewife who organizes social events for military personnel, has said that she and David Petraeus were only acquaintances.
The FBI conducted an investigation into the emails and were shocked to learn how much access that Paula Broadwell appeared to have to David Petraeus, officials said. The federal agency eventually determined that no national security secrets had been breached by the relationship, however they did find classified materials on Paula Broadwell’s computer.
Paula Broadwell spent hours interviewing Holly Petraeus, former CIA Director’s wife, about the couple’s relationship while she was secretly carrying on an illicit affair with David Petraeus.
Paula Broadwell, 40, called Holly Petraeus “a wonderful source of information” for her research on the once esteemed army general, who resigned from the CIA Friday after admitting that he engaged in an affair with his biographer.
In her book, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, Paula Broadwell recounted details from dozens of hours of interviews between Holly and David Petraeus in a description of how the couple met and fell in love. She described the relationship as virtually unbreakable, while at the same time, she was carrying on an illicit affair with David behind Holly’s back.
Holly Petraeus is “furious” as details of Paula Broadwell’s relationship continue to emerge, according to a former spokesman for David Petraeus.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Steve Boylan described the Petraeus family’s outrage: “His children may be grown up, but he still has to regain their trust.”
“Holly is disappointed, upset and furious… but they have been married for 37 years and I hope they can get through this.”
Steve Boylan said that David Petraeus is still living at home with his wife despite revelations of his eight-month affair with his biographer.
He also revealed that David Petraeus has contacted his former mistress – his biographer and a married mother of two, Paula Broadwell – over recent weeks, despite ending the affair four months ago.
The couple had mutually agreed to stop their illicit affair, knowing what they were doing was “wrong”. But “David and Paula were still in contact about Paula’s dissertation”.
When asked if their marriage could survive, he added: “I hope so, they are a strong couple, but every day is a challenge. All David is focused on now is saving his family.”
Col. Steve Boylan said that Holly Petraeus had been told of the affair on Thursday before he met with President Barack Obama to offer his resignation.
“She is very classy, very unassuming,” he said.
“She has established herself and her own career in her own manner.
“She’s a very lovely lady, endearing. But she is also someone I would not want to get angry at me.
“It’s those reserved, quiet types you have to look out for. But she’s a joy to be around, a very gracious and caring individual.”
Paula Broadwell spent hours interviewing Holly Petraeus about the couple’s relationship while she was secretly carrying on an illicit affair with David Petraeus
In Paula Broadwell’s book, she described Holly Petraeus as a witty head-turner.
“In the fall of 1973, Holly Knowlton was a senior at Dickinson College, a beautiful, smart and witty young woman,” Paula Broadwell wrote.
At the time, David Petraeus was attending West Point.
“On a visit to West Point one football weekend, a friend of the family had hoped to fix her up with a certain cadet to take her to the game,” Paula Broadwell wrote.
“But when he was otherwise engaged, a call was placed to the cadet brigade headquarters to find a replacement…David Petraeus. Not knowing who his blind date was, he agreed to take on this potentially sensitive mission.”
David Petraeus fell fast for Holly Knowlton, but not just for her looks and wit, according to Paula Broadwell.
The army cadet found Holly Petraeus’ high-profile military family – her father was the superintendent at West Point – “intoxicating”, Paula Broadwell wrote.
“Soon, the two would find themselves commuting to each other’s colleges whenever time allowed, sometimes braving fierce New York snowstorms to spend time together,” according to Paula Broadwell.
“Petraeus would sneak into the superintendent’s side door to visit Holly when she made the trip back to West Point.”
David Petraeus told friends that his affair with Paula Broadwell began around the time that he was appointed director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the summer of 2011 and that he cut off the relationship four months ago.
The affair was revealed by an FBI investigation into threatening emails that Paula Broadwell had anonymously sent to Jill Kelley, whom she believed to be a rival for David Petraeus’s attention.
The FBI traced the emails to Paula Broadwell and uncovered the affair, which eventually led to David Petraeus’s decision last week to resign and admit to the infidelity publicly.
In advertising her book, Paula Broadwell said she has a fierce competitive streak, which is probably what led her to email another woman that she considered her rival.
On an official Web site for her book, which has since been removed, Paula Broadwell explains: “I was driven when I was younger. Driven at West Point where is much more competitive in that women were competing with men on many levels, and I was driven in the military and at Harvard, both competitive environments.”
Just as her affair with David Petraeus was budding, Paula Broadwell went on a book tour to promote her biography of Petraeus and she heaped praise on Holly.
“As a working mother and wife, my husband works really works hard, it’s hard to find balance, you know, it’s pretty clear and Holly’s pretty clear that she’s supported him and yet they have this wonderful marriage and very established children,” Paula Broadwell said in February.
Paula Broadwell also added that she likes “teasing” the general for being “monodirectional”.
“He doesn’t like to do anything besides run and do P.T. and read and work, you know, and go out to dinner with Holly,” Paula Broadwell said.
“I don’t know if that’s a weakness, but I feel like he could have more balance and learn to relax.”
An FBI agent was pulled off the investigation into David Petraeus’s illicit contact with Paula Broadwell when he reportedly became obsessed with Jill Kelley, the other woman involved in the probe, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The FBI found that the agent had sent shirtless photos of himself to Jill Kelley, the Tampa woman who reportedly received a half dozen emails from Paula Broadwell that warned her to stay away from David Petraeus. The emails were sent from anonymous accounts.
That same agent was a friend of Jill Kelley’s and he had started the FBI investigation into the emails – which eventually led to David Petraeus’s downfall – after Kelley came to him for help upon receiving the anonymous threats.
The FBI declined to identify the agent, who is now under an internal investigation by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
After Jill Kelley, a married mother of three, told the agent about the emails, he referred the matter to a cyber crimes unit.
Shortly thereafter, the agent was barred from the case over concerns that he “might have grown obsessed with the matter”, the Wall Street Journal reports.
An FBI agent was pulled off the investigation into David Petraeus’s illicit contact with Paula Broadwell when he reportedly became obsessed with Jill Kelley
Even after he was prohibited from involvement in the case, the agent decided to contact a member of Congress, Republican David Reichert, about the matter.
He complained that senior FBI officials were going to “sweep the matter under the rug”, the FBI learned.
Meanwhile, investigators had traced the harassing emails back to accounts used by Paula Broadwell, a 40-year-old married mother of two from Charlotte, North Carolina. In one of the emails, Paula Broadwell accused Jill Kelley of touching “him” underneath a table and another email asked if Kelley’s husband was aware of her actions, according to the newspaper.
Jill Kelley, 37, is a volunteer who organizes social events for military families in the Tampa area. She often hosts the events at her million-dollar Bayshore Boulevard home, which is located only a couple miles from MacDill Air Force base, where David Petraeus was leader of the U.S. Central Command.
“The Kelley mansion became the place to be seen for coalition officers,” according to theTampa Bay Times.
Jill Kelley’s husband, Dr. Scott Kelley, is a highly sought-after surgeon who specializes in a rare type of minimally invasive surgery to cure cancer of the esophagus.
Since the Kelleys have been in Tampa, one or both have been subjects of lawsuits nine times – including an $11,000 judgment against them that originated in Pennsylvania, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The emails which Paula Broadwell sent to supposed love rival Jill Kelley and which led to her affair with David Petraeus being exposed were “kind of cat-fight stuff”, it was claimed last night.
Paula Broadwell was apparently aggressive towards Jill Kelley, saying: “Who do you think you are?”
She also accused socialite Jill Kelley, a Petraeus family friend, of “parad[ing] around the base”, adding: “You need to take it down a notch.”
The revelation comes as a team of FBI agents has descended on paula Broadwell’s home and started removing boxes of household items.
It is unclear what investigators are doing at the house in Charlotte, North Carolina, and they have refused to comment on their latest probe into the writer.
Further questions about the FBI’s role in the scandal, which saw David Petraeus resign from the CIA last Friday, have been raised by the revelation of the notorious emails’ contents by the Daily Beast.
A source told the website the emails did not contain threats or references to the former general, but were instead vague expressions of hostility, taking aim at Jill Kelley’s role as a “social liaison” at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
When Jill Kelley first reported the messages to a friend who works for the FBI, she did not regard them as a criminal matter, instead simply saying: “I don’t know who this person is and I don’t want to keep getting them.”
The emails which Paula Broadwell sent to supposed love rival Jill Kelley were kind of cat-fight stuff
And when investigators looked at the messages, many were unimpressed, according to the Beast‘s source – many simply concluded, “There’s no threat there.”
However, Jill Kelley’s friendship with an FBI agent apparently meant the bureau took the emails more seriously than they otherwise might have – and helped them uncover the months-long relationship between Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus.
They launched a wide-ranging investigation, interviewing both the CIA director and his former lover, but eventually concluding that no crime or national security breach had been committed.
David Petraeus offered his resignation on Thursday afternoon, and officially stepped down the next day.
It became clear within hours that Paula Broadwell, who met the general in Iraq when she was researching a dissertation which would eventually become a full-length biography, was the woman with whom he had cheated on Holly, his wife of 37 years.
And on Monday evening it appeared that the FBI had reopened their investigation, as at least six agents visited her home – where she is not currently staying – and removed several boxes.
General John R. Allen, a second top military official, was dragged in to the David Petraeus sex scandal early this morning after being accused of sending thousands of “inappropriate” emails to socialite Jill Kelley, who was responsible for exposing the former CIA director’s extra-marital affair.
General John R. Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, is under investigation by the FBI after the agency discovered between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of communication between him and 37-year-old housewife Jill Kelley.
Jill Kelley entered the public eye when she was the target of threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, which the FBI used to uncover the affair between Broadwell and David Petraeus, leading to the former general’s resignation from the CIA.
John Allen, who succeeded David Petraeus in Afghanistan, was due to take over as NATO’s top commander, but his appointment has been suspended while his relationship with Jill Kelley is investigated.
Barack Obama had nominated John Allen to take over as chief of the military’s European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, but that nomination is now on hold as the Pentagon investigates Allen’s relationship with Kelley, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters.
He had been expected to take that new post in early 2013 if confirmed by the Senate, as had been widely expected.
The FBI notified the Pentagon of its investigation into John Allen’s communications with Jill Kelley on Sunday evening, an unnamed senior defence official said. Leon Panetta said he immediately notified the White House and top leaders in Congress of the investigation.
Leon Panetta said John Allen would remain as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for now, “while the matter is under investigation and before the facts are determined”.
Pentagon officials have declined to comment on the nature of the relationship between Jill Kelley and John Allen, who is married, except to say that it was “potentially inappropriate”. Officials have not said whether any national security secrets were breached.
Adultery is classified as a crime in the military.
Jill Kelley has been in the news this week after it emerged that she was the target of harassing emails from Paula Broadwell, a 40-year-old mother of two from Charlotte, North Carolina who was engaged in an affair with David Petraeus.
Paula Broadwell sent Jill Kelley a half dozen emails from anonymous accounts earlier this year warning her to stay away from Petraeus. Paula Broadwell perceived Jill Kelley as a threat to her relationship with David Petraeus, which began in the summer of 2011 and ended the following summer.
Jill Kelley notified a friend of hers who worked for the FBI of the emails, and he referred the case to a cyber crimes unit.
That agent was later banned from the FBI’s investigation into the source of the emails when officials discovered that he was sending shirtless photographs to Jill Kelley and seemed to become “obsessed” with the case, the Wall Street Journal reported.
General John R. Allen was dragged into the David Petraeus sex scandal early this morning after being accused of sending thousands of inappropriate emails to Jill Kelley
Jill Kelley is a volunteer who organizes social events for military families in the Tampa area. She often hosts the events at her million-dollar Bayshore Boulevard home, which is located only a couple miles from MacDill Air Force base, where Allen served from July 2008 to June 2011.
John R. Allen, a four-star Marine general, succeeded David Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan in July 2011.
A senior official told the Associated Press that 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents from Allen’s communications with Jill Kelley between 2010 and 2012 are under review.
He would not say whether they involved sexual matters or whether they are thought to include unauthorized disclosures of classified information. He said he did not know whether David Petraeus is mentioned in the emails.
“General Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter,” the official said. He said John Allen currently is in Washington.
The FBI’s decision to refer the Allen matter to the Pentagon rather than keep it itself, combined with Leon Panetta’s decision to allow John Allen to continue as Afghanistan commander without a suspension, suggested strongly that officials viewed whatever happened as a possible infraction of military rules rather than a violation of federal criminal law.
John Allen was Deputy Commander of Central Command, based in Tampa, prior to taking over in Afghanistan. He also is a veteran of the Iraq war.
Leon Panetta said Barack Obama was consulted and agreed that John Allen’s nomination to the NATO post should be put on hold.
John Allen was to testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Leon Panetta said he asked committee leaders to delay that hearing.
Leon Panetta also said he wants the Senate Armed Services Committee to act promptly on Barack Obama’s nomination of General Joseph Dunford to succeed John Allen as commander in Afghanistan. That nomination was made several weeks ago. Joseph Dunford’s hearing is also scheduled for Thursday.
Kim Kardashian slipped up as she walked onstage at the MTV EMA’s, with her feathered trail getting tangled up in her sky-high heels, causing the starlets toned legs to buckle.
But Kim Kardashian managed to stay standing, avoiding a Naomi Campbell floor crumbling moment and carried on her graceful ascent to the platform.
After a weekend promoting her new clothing line in London, Kim Kardashian was obviously feeling very confident about her knack for fashion.
She looked sassy and defiant in a dramatic black gown which featured a plunging neckline and elaborate train.
While some fans might assume that the eye-catching look is a result of some helpful styling by Kim Kardashian’s boyfriend Kanye West, it seems that the dress was all her own choosing.
But after a graceful red carpet entrance, Kim Kardashian narrowly avoided ending up red faced onstage, in front of an audience of millions.
The video of her narrow escape from floor hugging is set to be a viral sensation as Kim Kardashian is known for her grace.
Kim Kardashian slipped up as she walked onstage at the MTV EMA’s
She confided in her 16 million Twitter followers about her outfit plans for the evening.
Kim Kardashian wrote: “I’m wearing the coolest Stephane Rolland dress for tonight’s MTV Awards! Hope you guys like it!”
She also admitted that she was watching Disney films while getting ready, which might explain why she arrived dressed like a younger version of Ursula from The Little Mermaid.
The reality star said: “Watching <<Beauty & The Beast>> while glamming up for the awards! This is probably my favorite Disney movie, along with Aladdin!”
Kim Kardashian, 32, later presented the Best Song award to Carly Rae Jepsen.
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have detected one of the rarest particle decays seen in Nature.
The finding deals a significant blow to the theory of physics known as supersymmetry.
Many researchers had hoped the LHC would have confirmed this by now.
Supersymmetry, or SUSY, has gained popularity as a way to explain some of the inconsistencies in the traditional theory of subatomic physics known as the Standard Model.
The new observation, reported at the Hadron Collider Physics conference in Kyoto, is not consistent with many of the most likely models of SUSY.
Prof Chris Parkes, who is the spokesperson for the UK Participation in the LHCb experiment, said: “Supersymmetry may not be dead but these latest results have certainly put it into hospital.”
Supersymmetry theorizes the existence of more massive versions of particles that have already been detected.
Supersymmetry, or SUSY, has gained popularity as a way to explain some of the inconsistencies in the traditional theory of subatomic physics known as the Standard Model
Their existence would help explain why galaxies appear to rotate faster than the Standard Model would suggest. Physicists have speculated that as well as the particles we know about, galaxies contain invisible, undetected dark matter made up of super particles. The galaxies therefore contain more mass than we can detect and so spin faster.
Researchers at the LHCb detector have dealt a serious blow to this idea. They have measured the decay between a particle known as a Bs Meson into two particles known as muons. It is the first time that this decay has been observed and the team has calculated that for every billion times that the Bs Meson decays it only decays in this way three times.
If superparticles were to exist the decay would happen far more often. This test is one of the “golden” tests for supersymmetry and it is one that on the face of it this hugely popular theory among physicists has failed.
Prof. Val Gibson, leader of the Cambridge LHCb team, said that the new result was “putting our supersymmetry theory colleagues in a spin”.
The results are in fact completely in line with what one would expect from the Standard Model. There is already concern that the LHCb’s sister detectors might have expected to have detected superparticles by now, yet none have been found so far.
If supersymmetry is not an explanation for dark matter, then theorists will have to find alternative ideas to explain those inconsistencies in the Standard Model. So far researchers who are racing to find evidence of so called “new physics” have run into a series of dead ends.
“If new physics exists, then it is hiding very well behind the Standard Model,” commented Cambridge physicist Dr. Marc-Olivier Bettler, a member of the analysis team.
The result does not rule out the possibility that super particles exist. But according to Prof. Chris Parkes, “they are running out of places to hide”.
Barneys has teamed up with Disney’s animation know-how to create a highly entertaining fantasy film for its Christmas windows.
The animated short called Electric Holiday, to be shown at Barneys’ Madison Avenue store in New York, features Minnie Mouse staring longingly at a Lanvin dress, before she is transported to a fashion show with some of the fashion industry’s very real favorite characters.
Front-row favorite Sarah Jessica Parker, model Naomi Campbell, music icon Lady Gaga and Vogue‘s Anna Dello Russo are just a few faces that were given Disney’s animated treatment.
Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquière, Carine Roitfeld, Cathy Horyn, Bryanboy and Lanvin’s designer Alber Elbaz also agreed to participate.
WWD called the concept, which was a year in the making, “kitschy, clever and absolutely adorable”.
Mark Lee, Barneys CEO explained: “Disney came up on a very short list of dreams – thinking about if we could do anything, what would we do?
“They represent magic and Barneys New York holiday needs to be part magic and part surprise.”
Lady Gaga appears in the animated film Electric Holiday that will be shown at Barneys Madison Avenue store in New York on November 14
Luis Fernandez, senior vice president of creative for Disney Consumer Products, added: “We thought, <<A huge force in fashion and a huge force in animation. What better than for these two companies to get together and do something for the holidays?>>”
Once on board, both teams brainstormed their dream narratives, and a wish list of fashion personalities.
WWD commented on Anna Wintour’s palpable absence, writing: “Noticeably absent is one top American editor, but otherwise Lee said cooperation was forthcoming.”
All the fashion character participants were asked to sign off on rights to their soon-to-be drawn animated selves, and once they had agreed to be included, all artist interpretation was at the discretion of Disney – no facial features, or waistlines could be redrawn.
Mark Lee said: “We were unable and unwilling to give approval.”
Few of the participants have seen the finished product, which will be unveiled on Wednesday November 14.
A new diet, inspired by Ramadan, suggests that eating carbohydrates in the evening increases feeling of fullness.
A study has found tucking into a bowl of pasta at night can actually reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
A team from the Hebrew University carried out the research after studying the diets of Muslims during Ramadan, when people fast during the day and eat carb-heavy evening meals.
Complex carbohydrates are a good source of energy and include wholegrain pastas, breads and rice as well as beans.
They found the diet increased satiety – the feeling of being full – and influenced the production of hormones associated with heart attack risk factors.
This made it a promising eating regime for overweight people trying to slim down.
Professor Zecharia Madar, chief scientist at Israel’s Ministry of Education, explained: “The idea came about from studies on Muslims during Ramadan, when they fast during the day and eat high-carbohydrate meals in the evening, that showed the secretion curve of leptin was changed.”
He led a team that assigned 78 police officers to either the Ramadan diet (carbohydrates at dinner) or a control weight loss diet (carbohydrates throughout the day).
After six months researchers examined the experimental diet’s effect on the secretion of three hormones: leptin, the satiety hormone; ghrelin, the hunger hormone; and adiponectin, the link between obesity, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome.
The researchers found that the experimental diet led to positive changes in the hormonal profiles of the Ramadan dieters.
The diet led to lower hunger scores, as well as better weight, abdominal circumference and body fat outcomes compared to the control group.
The experimental dieters also recorded improvements in their blood sugar, blood lipids and inflammatory levels.
The findings suggest there is an advantage in concentrating carbohydrate intake in the evening, especially for people at risk of developing diabetes or cardiovascular disease due to obesity.
“The findings lay the basis for a more appropriate dietary alternative for those people who have difficulty persisting in diets over time,” said Prof. Zecharia Madar.
“The next step is to understand the mechanisms that led to the results obtained.”
The study was published in the Obesity and Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases journals.
The White House faces growing demands from Capitol Hill for answers about what the FBI and President Barack Obama knew about the David Petraeus scandal and why the president was not informed about the months-long investigation until after his re-election.
The fact that David Petraeus, who was scheduled to give testimony on Thursday about CIA intelligence surrounding the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Libya, but now that appearance has been delayed because of his resignation on Friday.
As more information is released, it is clear that Representative Eric Cantor- one of the country’s most powerful Republicans- was notified of the investigation involving David Petraeus on October 27, more than a week before the election.
Federal investigators from the FBI and the Justice Department- including Barack Obama-appointee Attorney General Eric Holder- had been aware of the ensuing scandal for months
In addition to their displeasure at being left in the dark until just hours before David Petraeus made his very public announcement on Friday, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are concerned that the timeline of the various notifications was purposefully slowed down to allow for some degree of a cover-up over Petraeus’ scheduled testimony.
The timing of the Petraeus resignation and this week’s Benghazi hearings means the two issues have, for now, become inextricably linked.
As CIA director, David Petraeus is understood to have interviewed the CIA base chief and head of the CIA response team about what happened in Benghazi when Ambassador Chris Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith and CIA contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were killed.
At the same time, Congress wants to know why, if senior FBI figures knew of the affair in the late summer, President Barack Obama was not informed until last week and, additionally, why leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence committees learned of the resignation from the media.
According to the White House, Barack Obama was not told of the FBI investigation and David Petraeus’ affair until last Thursday, even though he meets regularly with the head of the FBI.
Some Republicans have suggested there might be a cover-up over Benghazi or that the news was held back until after the election.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican and chair of the House Intelligence Committee, have expressed their dismay at not having been informed earlier.
General Michael Hayden, former CIA chief, said the timing of the resignation was “mysterious”.
He told Fox News: “Hanging out there is the requirement in law to keep the intelligence committees fully and currently informed about significant intelligence activity.
“It’s not surprising that Senator Feinstein and Chairman Rogers have shown a lot of pique at not being let in on this a bit earlier.”
According to the FBI, their investigation began in the spring when Jill Kelley, described as an unofficial “social liaison” to the Joint Special Operations Command in Tampa, told a friend in the FBI that she had received harassing emails from another woman.
Jill Kelley, who is Lebanese-born, and her husband Scott were friend of David Petraeus, 60, and his wife Holly. The FBI investigation established that Paul Broadwell, 40, a married mother of two, had sent the emails.
In monitoring Paula Broadwell’s emails, it was discovered that she was receiving emails of a sexual nature from a mysterious Gmail account.
It was eventually discovered that the mysterious emails were from David Petraeus, who admitted the affair.
CIA Director David Petraeus resigned on Friday November 9 citing an extramarital affair
On October 31st, however, and before anyone else on Capitol Hill or in the White House knew, the FBI friend of Jill Kelley contacted Representative Dave Reichert regarding concerns about national security and asking for a member of the Republican congressional leadership.
Dave Reichert directed the FBI man to Representative Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip, who spoke to him and then informed the FBI of the conversation.
Ronald Kessler, a Newsmax journalist, said he was informed of the affair and FBI investigation by an FBI source on October 10th. David Petraeus and Paul Broadwell were interviewed during the week of October 29th and both admitted their affair.
Paula Broadwell was interviewed again on November 2nd, at which time the FBI is said to have concluded that no charges would be brought either for cyber stalking or security breaches.
David Petraeus has told friends he did not have an affair with Jill Kelley, 37, a mother of three. In a statement issued on Sunday, Jill Kelley asked for privacy for her and her family and neither confirmed nor denied an affair.
Speaking on CBS, Senator Lindsey Graham, a personal and confidant of David Petraeus, said: “Well, if there`s no effect of the affair on national security, I think we need to move on. But at the end of the day, the one thing that has to happen, in my view, is we’ve got to get to the bottom of Benghazi.
“I hate what happened to General Petraeus for his family and the families for those involved, but we have four dead Americans in Benghazi. We have a national security failure long in the making.
“I don`t see how in the world you can find out what happened in Benghazi before, during, and after the attack if General Petraeus doesn`t testify, so from my point of view, it`s absolutely essential that he give testimony before the Congress so we can figure out Benghazi.”
He added: “I would suggest that we have a joint select committee of House and Senate members and we do this together, not have three different committee going off in three different directions, so we can get to the bottom of it like we did in Watergate and Iran Contra. I think that would be smart for the Congress to combine resources.”
Just as with Watergate, the central issue over events surrounding David Petraeus’ resignation is crystallizing into something similar to the one Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee famously asked during the Watergate hearings: “What did the President know and when did he know it.”
Neither Robert Mueller, FBI director, not Eric Holder, attorney general, has commented on when they learned of the investigation. Both the FBI and Justice Department has said no one in the White House was told of the investigation until last week.
Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor, compared what happened in Benghazi to Watergate and told Fox News it was essential David Petraeus testified. Even though he is now a private citizen, David Petraeus can be compelled to appear.
“The frustration is justified,” Rudy Giuliani said.
“And it’s in the national interest. Now we’re going to have a hearing next week, and the man who knows the facts, David Petraeus – he’s the only man who can really tell us what the CIA knew, what they did, why they did it, how they did it. He’s not going to testify.
“And this is a very convenient way to get the administration out of a very, very difficult situation. But is inevitable. This is like Watergate. This is inevitable. This is all going to come out.
“It may take a month, it may take five months, but this is all going to come out. And every single new cover-up they do just makes it much, much worse.”
Representative Peter King of New York, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on MSNBC that the FBI was “derelict in its duty” when it failed to tell the White House immediately when it learned of David Petraeus’s affair.
“Once the FBI realized that it was investigating the director of the CIA or the CIA director had come within its focus or its scope, I believe at that time they had an absolute obligation to tell the president. Not to protect David Petraeus, but to protect the president.
“The fact is he is a key part of the president’s foreign policy team, maybe more than any other CIA director in recent times.
“He was going around the world negotiating various understandings and agreements, I’m aware of that.
“And to have someone out there in such a sensitive position who the FBI thought perhaps could have been compromised or was under the scope of an FBI investigation who may or may not have been having an affair at the time, that to me had to have been brought to the president or certainly to the National Security Council. If not, the FBI was derelict in its duty.”
He added: “This is a crisis, I believe, of major proportions. This is not the usual political thing. We’re not talking about the secretary of commerce or some under secretary somewhere.”
Questions have emerged over whether Paula Broadwell, David Petraeus’ mistress, leaked details of the CIA’s investigation into the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Suspicions over how much Paula Broadwell knew about the probe come as the CIA’s former boss stepped down on Friday over the alleged affair, days before he was to testify in the investigation.
Officials say they expect he will still testify over the incident, which left four Americans dead on September 11 this year, yet it will be delayed. The new concern comes over what, if any, confidential information he shared with his biographer and alleged mistress.
Paula Broadwell, a married army veteran who met David Petraeus in 2006, was speaking at the University of Denver on October 26 when she was asked about the attack.
“Now I don’t know if a lot of you heard this, but the CIA annex had actually – had taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back,” she said, according to the Daily Beast.
“So that’s still being vetted.”
In response, the CIA denied that claim on Sunday when the tape of Paula Broadwell’s talk surfaced, saying that it was not true. The agency confirmed that since 2009 they have not had the authority to detain prisoners.
“Any suggestion that the Agency is still in the detention business is uninformed and baseless,” they told the site.
The only other news station to report that claim at the time that Paula Broadwell made her speech to the University of Denver was Fox News, which she references moments before making the claim about the alleged prisoners.
According to the clearest timeline of Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus’ alleged affair, which is said to have started in 2011 and ended in “early summer” of this year, they would have been broken up for at least a few months by the time of this conference.
Paula Broadwell leaked secret details of Benghazi attack while speaking at the University of Denver on October 26
She went on to defend both the government’s controversial reaction to the crisis and the CIA’s lack of disclosure.
“The challenging thing for General Petraeus is that in his new position he is not allowed to communicate with the press. So he’s known all of this, they had correspondence with the CIA station chief in Libya. Within 24 hours they kind of knew what was happening,” she said.
“If you remember at the time, the Muslim video, the Mohammed video that came out, the demonstrations that were going on in Cairo- there were demonstrations in 22 other countries at the time, tens of thousands of people and our government was very concerned that this was going to become a nightmare for us.
“So you can understand if you put yourself in his shoes, or Secretary Clinton’s shoes, or the President’s shoes, that we thought it was tied somehow to the demonstrations in Cairo. It’s true that we have signal intelligence that shows the militia members in Libya were watching the demonstrations in Cairo and that did galvanize their efforts.
“As a former intel officer, it’s frustrating to me because it reveals our sources and methods. I don’t think the public needs to know all of that.”
Paula Broadwell has come under intense scrutiny ever since David Petraeus, the four star general credited with the surge in Afghanistan, submitted his resignation citing an extramarital affair.
During the lengthy discussion, Paula Broadwell’s high aspirations are clear as she spoke repeatedly about how she has had the life-long goal of becoming the National Security Adviser. When asked if she had the chance to talk to any previous NSA’s, she said that she had not but she considers “Maddie” and “Condi” to be great role models, referring to Madeline Albright and Condoleezza Rice by their nicknames.
Paula Broadwell’s high achieving personality and her unusually comfortable nature around David Petraeus raised concerns among Petraeus’ close advisers in the year leading up to the revelation of the affair.
To those outside the general’s tight-knit circle, however, news of the affair came as a big surprise when it was announced on Friday.
David Petraeus was expected to make headlines when he was made to testify in front of Congress about what and when the CIA knew regarding the timeline of events in Libya when a group of terrorists stormed the consulate killing ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
The affair was discovered by the FBI when they responded Jill Kelley, a Florida woman and friend of David Petraeus who allegedly received email threats from Paula Broadwell.
Both Jill Kelley and Paula Broadwell are married with children, but that didn’t stop Broadwell from becoming defensive of David Petraeus.
Paula Broadwell supposedly told Jill Kelley to “stay away from my man”. Though there were multiple threatening emails, none of them were considered criminal so the FBI has not charged the army reservist.
News of the affair “was like a lightning bolt”, said Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee.
David Petraeus was scheduled to testify in front of Congress on Thursday, but that has since been pushed back in light of his resignation.
Now his replacement, CIA deputy director Michael Morell, will appear instead of David Petraeus.
Dianne Feinstein went on to say that just because David Petraeus no longer works at the CIA, that does prohibit Congress from compelling him to testify about Benghazi at a later date.
Today it has emerged that former CIA chief David Petraeus charmed another female journalist, Linda Robinson, who was writing a book on him so successfully that she once praised him for “always poking, prodding, demanding”.
Linda Robinson was so impressed with the future head of the CIA that she called him a “whirling dervish” who had “tremendous energy”.
In interviews Linda Robinson also spoke of his “informality” and how he was so media savvy that he was “very proactive about his public relations”.
Linda Robinson wrote her take on David Petraeus and his war record in 2008 called Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq.
After the book came out she was rewarded with a post alongside David Petraeus at U.S. Central Command where she is thought to have provided strategic analysis for the Afghanistan-Pakistan Centre.
There is no suggestion at all that Linda Robinson and David Petraeus had an affair, but the similarities between her and Paula Broadwell – the brunette biographer who allegedly had an affair with Petraeus over the past year- are clear and her comments throw a spotlight on how Petraeus charmed those around him with almost cult-like qualities.
They spent time together under similar circumstances to the way he got to know mistress Paula Broadwell when she later wrote her biography of him.
Paula Broadwell spoke repeatedly at lectures about her book about how willing David Petraeus was to mentor young scholar-soldiers like herself, and one of his classic “moves” was to take them out for a jog to see how fit they were.
“Our first interview in person was on a run. And I had proposed this because I knew it was a rite of passage for many of his former aids, to kind of get in the inner circle you had to be a runner,” Paula Broadwell said at a lecture in October.
Linda Robinson, 58, is a respected former U.S. News and World Report correspondent who specializes in security and the military.
She is currently an adjunct senior fellow on foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and is a Nieman fellow at Harvard University.
Linda Robinson has also been a senior editor at the respected Foreign Affairs magazine and her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post and a string of policy journals.
Over 18 months in 2007 and 2008 she conducted “extensive” interviews with David Petraeus to complete Tell Me How This Ends, so named after what Petraeus remarked when the war in Iraq turned into an insurgency.
At the time he was head of the Multi-National Force in Iraq and was credited for persuading former President George W. Bush to back the troop “surge”.
Linda Robinson writes that David Petraeus changed the military for the better from a “top-down” organization to a “bottom-up” approach.
Linda Robinson was so impressed with David Petraeus that she called him a whirling dervish who had tremendous energy
In a series of interviews she also heaped praise on the man himself, including one in 2008 with NPR in which she expressed her affection for him.
Linda Robinson said: “And I think that’s probably sums up what he did do, a man with tremendous energy.
“So, he also communicated those ideas in the variety of ways in the daily briefings, which I sat in on and he was very active and contrasted with some of the previous generals.
“He was always poking, prodding, demanding. I mean he’s just ceaseless, kind of a whirling dervish.
“He goes out, runs with his battalion commanders, gets information from them, tells them what he thinks they need to be doing and just deals with hundreds and hundreds of emails a day and just you know, he’s really trying to be everywhere at once.”
In the book itself Linda Robinson notes David Petraeus’ “intellectual rigor” and how it meant he would “mount a sustained effort to understand the problem”.
In an interview with C-Span in 2008, Linda Robinson also told how she endured 125 F heat in Baghdad that left her “drenched and exhausted” in order to see David Petraeus and interview him.
She said: “I got to know him and watched him over this last 18 months, what really struck me was his informality and his approachability.”
Linda Robinson also defended David Petraeus’ love of the limelight and claimed that it was merely because he was “very proactive about his public relations”.
She said: “You know, he’s always willing to go out and talk. And a lot of, I would call them sort of <<old school Army>> officers are less comfortable and less willing to be proactive on that front.
“And you hear people who say, <<oh, he’s looking for attention>>, you know, sort of characterizing Petraeus as the attention-seeking general.
“But it’s really, for him, a way of trying to shape what he calls the <<information environment>>.
“He certainly does mind his career and his public profile. But I think there’s a real substantive purpose to why he does what he does.
“And there are, I think, people in the Army who have had some heartburn over that.”
Praise was high for Tell Me How This Ends, with the New York Times calling it “a first-rate piece of work, probing and conscientious”.
Its review says: “Robinson leaves the reader feeling that, however the war turns out, our country owes David Petraeus a debt of gratitude.”
According to the review, Linda Robinson brings an insider’s perspective to the subject whilst John Nagi in Army Magazine said it was “likely to remain the best analysis of General Petraeus’ role in the decisive years of the war in Iraq short of the general’s own memoirs”.
Since the revelations about David Petraeus emerged, critics have begun asking how questions about his cozy relationship with reporters.
Writing on Buzzfeed, Michael Hastings said that David Petraeus had been brilliant at “making the public think he was a man of great integrity and honor”.
He wrote: “How did Petraeus get away with all this for so long?
“Well, his first affair – and one that matters so much more than the fact that he was sleeping with a female or two – was with the media.”
Friends of Jill Kelley, the Tampa housewife who exposed David Petraeus’ affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, have suggested her husband tipped off the FBI about the “threatening” emails his wife was receiving from the woman.
The emails telling Jill Kelley to “back off” sparked the investigation that uncovered David Petraeus’ affair with Paula Broadwell and led to the CIA boss’ dramatic resignation on Friday.
The friends’ claims come as Jill Kelley, who became friend with Petraeus after working alongside him as a liaison officer at MacDill Air Force Base, was seen strutting outside her Florida mansion.
Jill Kelley was dressed in an eye-catching canary yellow suit as she swooped past reporters swarming the $1.3 million home she shares with her husband and their three children.
She climbed into her Mercedes which carries a license plate reading “Honorary Consul” – a nod to her unpaid work with the forces, and a sign she’s not shy about making her high-profile contacts known.
Jill Kelley steps out as friends claim her husband tipped FBI about Paula Broadwell emails
“Jill’s husband Scott is very protective of her, and I’m sure he was the one who said go to the FBI,” said a close friend about the scandal.
“They are a very close couple who are devoted to each other and their children. If his family was being threatened he would not hesitate to go to the police.
“Jill is a very strong woman, but I guess she must have known who these emails were coming from. She would have seen this Paula and seen how close she was to the General. She is very worldly wise and would have guessed.”
Jill Kelley has insisted there was no reason for jealousy as she is nothing more than friends with David Petraeus, whom she met when he was serving at the Tampa base between 2008 and 2010.
She worked as an unpaid, unofficial social liaison for U.S. Central Command, which David Petraeus led, and was reportedly a fixture at parties, along with her husband Scott, a prominent cancer surgeon.
Before meeting General David Petraeus, biographer Paula Broadwell was driven to succeed at a North Dakota high school, where she was named student council president and valedictorian.
Paula Broadwell, 40, was revealed late last week to be the woman who engaged in an extramarital affair with David Petraeus, forcing him to resign from his position as CIA director.
But in 1991, Paula Broadwell was known back then as Paula Kranz, who attended Century High School in Bismarck, where she was voted homecoming queen and “most likely to be remembered” in the school’s yearbook.
She also played lead violin in the school orchestra, dominated on the basketball court, and loved a newly-formed band called Cheap Thrillz.
Paula Broadwell, then Paula Kranz, was also regarded as an exceptional public speaker, with one telling caption under a Yearbook photo reading simply: “Paula Kranz gives one of her many speeches to an auditorium full of students.”
Her high school maxim was, the rather earnest: “God has given me all of these gifts to use to the best of my ability.”
Many people knew her for her numerous awards: the AUU/Mars Milky Way Foundation Scholar, All State Tournament for girls basketball, North Dakota State Student Council President, and a remarkable 36 other achievements.
She held nine leadership positions and was involved in four extra-curricular and community activities during her high school years.
But, as the past few days have shown, Paula Broadwell is only human, despite the promising high school record.
As one faculty member who knew Paula Broadwell said: “Sometimes her school work and friendships suffered a little from the lack of time she was able to put into them.”
But Paula Kranz apparently had no regrets. She told classmates at the time that her experiences “helped her form a broader perspective on life and on the world”.
Of the awards, the one that gave her the greatest satisfaction was making the All-State Basketball team, an honor that also made her father Paul Kranz proud – as he too was a hoops star.
“Working hard for something adds to the satisfaction of achieving that goal,” she told the Century High yearbook.
“I don’t feel I missed out on being a teenager; but through the many opportunities I’ve been given, I’ve lived life to the fullest – giving the best that I had so the best would come back.”
Paula Broadwell was known among her classmates as a go-getter who did not get sucked into the early 90s teen party scene.
Her homecoming king, Mike McCormick told the New York Post: “She was devoted and studied and worked hard to get good grades. She didn’t really go out and party like high-school kids do.”
It would be hard to imagine a more focused student or a High School record that spoke more of ambition than Paula’s.
Mike McCormick, 40, told the paper that he was surprised by the allegations that she carried on an extramarital affair with Gen David Petraeus as she followed him around while writing his biography.
The statement was echoed by friends of Paula Broadwell, who said the allegations of an affair with America’s top intelligence official was out of character.
In 1991, Paula Broadwell, then Paula Kranz, attended Century High School in Bismarck, where she was voted homecoming queen and most likely to be remembered in the school’s yearbook
David Bixler, a wounded soldier who met Paula Broadwell through a charity in 2010, told ABC News: “I have some serious questions about who is connecting these dots… Paula Broadwell is not the type… she isn’t.”
Paula Broadwell lives with her husband Scott, a radiologist, and their two children in a suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, neighborhood.
Ed Williams, a neighbor who lives two houses down from the Broadwell family in Charlotte, North Carolina, neighborhood, told Reuters: “Everyone is surprised and shocked.”
Paula Broadwell’s father Paul Kranz, a retired high school basketball coach, sprung to his daughter’s defense today.
Paul Kranz aid the shock of the past few days is “just the beginning of a process”.
He spoke briefly this morning on the snow-covered drive of his modest bungalow in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Paul Kranz said: “I’ve been advised by attorneys not to talk right now. This is private property.
“I hope you understand this is the beginning of a process. I can’t say more than that. I couldn’t if I wanted to.”
Paul Kranz is divorced from his wife and Paula’s mother Nadene Kranz, who lives in Boise, Idaho.
From Century High School, Paula Broadwell moved on to the West Point Military Academy in New York.
Paula Broadwell met David Petraeus in 2006 when she was a student at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the two casually exchanged emails for two years.
In 2008, Paula Broadwell bonded with David Petraeus while interviewing the four-star general during runs on the Potomac River as she pursued her Ph D in public policy.
“A few months into my research, General Petraeus, who was then leading Central Command, invited me to go for a run with him and his team along the Potomac River during one of his visits to Washington,” Paula Broadwell writes in the biography, titled All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
“I figured I could interview him while we ran.”
Paula Broadwell explained that, after earning varsity letters in cross-country and indoor and outdoor track, she wanted to test him to see if he could keep up with her as she interviewed him.
“Instead it became a test for me,” she said.
“As we talked during the run from the Pentagon to the Washington Monument and back, Petraeus progressively increased the pace until the talk turned to heavy breathing and we reached a six-minute-per-mile pace. It was a signature Petraeus move.”
Promoting the book on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in January, Paula Broadwell insisted that these mile-long runs together were nothing out of the ordinary.
“This is a typical mechanism for him to get to know young people,” she said.
“He’s done it throughout his life. That was the foundation of our relationship.”
In another often awkward radio interview in January, host Don Imus said that the pair must have “obviously” liked each other.
Paula Broadwell responded: “You know, as I said earlier, he has a number of mentees and that’s one thing that’s different when you compare him to other Senior Commanders.
“But, yeah, we had a lot of rapport. I think some of that comes from a common ground of having gone to West Point [to the U.S. Military Academy].”
Of her reported rival, Holly Petraeus, Paula Broadwell added: “He is married to Holly Petraeus, who is a wonderful military spouse and done so much for their children and for children of fallen soldiers. I respect her immensely.”
The book’s description explains how Paula Broadwell conducted research for three years and was “afforded extensive access by General Petraeus, his mentors, his subordinates and his longtime friends”.
The book’s website adds Paula Broadwell was embedded in Afghanistan with David Petraeus for a year between July 2010 and 2011.
Actress Anne Hathaway has revealed the extreme measures she took to lose weight for her role in Les Miserables.
Anne Hahaway, 29, takes on the role of the tragic Fantine in the big screen version of the hit musical and she admits she was “state of deprivation, physical and emotional” when filming ended.
To prepare for the part of a dying prostitute in the Nineteenth century French underclass, Anne Hathaway had to shave all her hair off and lose a drastic amount of weight as she didn’t want to rely on props or special effects.
Anne Hathaway told Vogue magazine that she dropped 10 pounds before shooting began on a strict cleanse.
She then lost another 15 lbs by following a near-starvation diet during two-week break in filming, consisting of two thin squares of dried oatmeal paste a day, the magazine reports.
Anne Hathaway told Vogue magazine: “I had to be obsessive about it – the idea was to look near death. Looking back on the whole experience – and I don’t judge it in any way – it was definitely a little nuts.
“It was definitely a break with reality, but I think that’s who Fantine is anyway.”
She said: “I was in such a state of deprivation – physical and emotional. When I got home, I couldn’t react to the chaos of the world without being overwhelmed. It took me weeks till I felt like myself again.
“The first time I really threw everything into a part, which was when I did Rachel Getting Married, there was no one waiting for me when I got back. This time, Adam [Schulman, her husband] was there.
“He gets what I do and who I am and supports me in it, and that’s pretty awesome.”
Anne Hathaway has revealed the extreme measures she took to lose weight for her role in Les Miserables
But now Anne Hathaway seems to have re-gained her curves and she positively glowed on the magazine’s front cover.
Her creamy complexion is flawless and just a hint of cleavage can be seen in her elegant bottle-green gown.
Her elfin crop is slicked back to show off her large eyes and generous mouth and her only accessories are a pair of heavy diamond studs.
Anne Hathaway also opens up about her September wedding to Schulman, 31.
The couple tied the knot in Big Sur, California, and Anne Hathaway wore a custom-made Valentino number.
She said working with the designer was a memory she will “treasure forever”.
Anne Hathaway also proved recently that it’s not just dramatic, high-brow roles she can turn her hand to.
She hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend and her raucous performances, including parodying Katie Holmes and Claire Danes, went down a storm.
A shrinking Matthew McConaughey reported for his first day on the New Orleans set of The Dallas Buyers Club Sunday.
The normally buff 42-year-old was spotted walking by his trailer in 1986 period garb – grey T-shirt, which hung loose, blue jeans, and glasses.
Sporting a Burt Reynolds moustache, Matthew McConaughey also had a visibly large lesion on his forehead, an ominous sign of the AIDS affliction which took the life of his real-life character Ron Woodroof.
Matthew McConaughey, who dropped 30 pounds, shocked onlookers Friday as he shuffled through the security line at LAX.
He certainly looked almost unrecognizable from the snake-hipped muscleman who lit up screens this year in stripper movie Magic Mike.
Both Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling originally wanted to play Ron Woodruff, the heterosexual, homophobic electrician who perished in 1992 after illegally smuggling HIV drugs not approved in the States.
The Dallas Buyers Club, due out next April, reportedly focuses on the six months following his diagnosis.
A shrinking Matthew McConaughey reported for his first day on the New Orleans set of The Dallas Buyers Club Sunday
Jennifer Garner, who starred with Matthew McConaughey in Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past, recently replaced two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank as Dr. Eve Saks in the drama.
And Jared Leto just joined the cast as Ron Woodroof’s friend Rayon, a flamboyant HIV-positive cross-dressing hospital patient.
The fact that Matthew McConaughey is so committed to altering his appearance for the role, might have something to do with the fact that the charismatic leading man has yet to secure an Oscar, Golden Globe, or Emmy nomination.
“I’m playing a guy who was sick and would have loved to have been healthier but wasn’t,” Matthew McConaughey told Us Weekly.
“For me, it’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing. I’ll get down to the weight I need to get to. I’m on my way, and it’s what I need to do for the job.”
Matthew McConaughey is currently doing cardio, drinking a lot of tea, and eating five ounces of high-protein, low-carbohydrate foods a day.
However, the triathelete has already planned out his post-Buyer’s Club celebratory meal – “cheeseburger”.
The most famous thespian to have vigorously exercised the pounds off for a juicy role was Christian Bale, who lost 63 pounds for The Machinist thanks to a diet of coffee, water, a can of tuna, and an apple a day.
Rapper 50 Cent did a two-month liquid diet to lose 50 pounds for Things Fall Apart, while Matt Damon suffered adrenal gland damage from losing 50 pounds for his heroin addict character in Courage Under Fire.
Heidi Klum has been the hostess of this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards but she certainly wasn’t winning the battle of the red carpet.
For her first of her six outfits at the star-studded ceremony in Frankfurt, the 39-year-old left little to the imagination in a revealing dress.
The mother-of-four showed off a lot of cleavage in the lace-up blue and gold studded Versace gown as she arrived on the red carpet.
With this year’s ceremony being held in her native Germany, Heidi Klum was a natural choice to host the awards.
As well as the rather skimpy number she arrived in, Heidi Klum is expected to wow the crowds in a variety of costumes throughout the evening.
Ahead of the show she revealed: “I have six different outfits from Versace that I love very much and I think for an event like the MTV awards I usually have a little bit more fun, I can be a little bit more sexy, a little more rock ‘n’ roll.
“So they have got me beautiful outfits, great shoes and great jewellery, but it depends how much time I have to change in between (hosting) because it’s all live.”
It wasn’t long until Heidi Klum had her first outfit change and changed in to a cream strapless dress, with cut-out detailing.
The top half of the dress, which appeared to be woven, turned into a large puffball skirt.
Heidi Klum completed the look with a bizarre top hat and leather fingerless gloves.
Heidi Klum changed six outfits as the hostess of MTV EMA’s in Frankfurt
Ahead of the awards, Heidi Klum and PSY had been practicing the Gangnam Style dance.
In a Twitter photo, Heidi was Klum seen wearing PSY’s signature blue suit and glasses as she enjoyed a master class with him ahead of their video performance which was shown during the ceremony.
Heidi Klum admitted she regularly performed the dance with her four children.
The 39-year-old model wore a cornflower blue tuxedo jacket, a pair of black trousers, a white shirt and a bow tie to perform with the record breaking star at the event on Sunday.
In the comedy sketch Heidi Klum was seen throwing herself into the dance, and had clearly been practicing the famous sequence ahead of the show.
Heidi Klum was even seen sporting Psy’s signature shades and oozed plenty of attitude as she threw herself into the dance.
Following her performance Heidi Klum tweeted: “Had so much fun dancing w @psy_oppa! What do you guys think of my Gangnam Style? #mtvema.”
She said recently: “I’ll have to perform it. I have four small children and they are obsessed with the song. We do Gangnam dance parties at the house.”
Pepsi is launching Pepsi Special, a version of its cola drink that it claims acts as a fat blocker.
Pepsi Special is made with dextrin – an indigestible form of dietary fibre. Studies on rats suggest this can reduce the absorption of fat in the body and lower cholesterol levels.
There is no information about how much sugar and corn-syrup it contains, compared to standard Pepsi, but a spokesman said it would have a “crisp refreshing and unique” aftertaste.
The drink, which will first be sold in Japan, comes in a “luxury” gold and black bottle with the Pepsi logo emblazoned on the side.
Pepsi hope the drink will have the same runaway success as the Japanese drink Kirin Mets Cola, which also contains dextrin.
It will be distributed by Suntory International.
Pepsi is launching Pepsi Special, a version of its cola drink that it claims acts as a fat blocker
It is not the first time that Pepsi have released unusual versions of its drink in Japan. In the past they have sold cucumber and yoghurt-flavored colas. This Christmas they will be selling Pepsi White, which will have a tangerine tang.
Pepsi Special, which will cost 150Yen or $1.85, joins a crowded functional food market in Japan. Here consumers can find everything from fat-fighting chocolate bars to age-defying alcoholic cocktails.
There is no word yet on if and when Pepsi Special will go on sale in the U.S and Europe.
Sue Baic, a spokesperson from the British Dietetic Association, was skeptical about Pepsi Special’s health claims.
“I think this drink is unlikely to make much difference to how much fat you absorb,” she said.
“I can’t see any studies that shows dextrin works in people. Even if it has an effect on rats that doesn’t mean it will translate into humans.
“I suggest a higher fibre diet with fruit, vegetables and whole grains would be a better way to fill you up and make you feel less hungry. Plus then you would get the benefits of all the vitamins and minerals as well.”
Kirstie Alley famously shed 100 pounds during her stint on Dancing With The Stars last year and she looked ultra glamorous as she posed with her tome The Art of Men at Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles.
Her shrinking waist was accentuated by a leather jacket, black mini skirt and leopardskin shoes teamed with black tights, while subtle eye make-up completed the look.
Kirstie Alley, 61, has been busy competing on the all-star season of the show with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy where she has proved to be a fan favorite.
And her slim frame is down to the grueling seven day a week practice sessions for the ABC series.
Kirstie Alley has attracted some controversy with her book The Art of Men, in which she has admitted to falling in love with Patrick Swayze during the filming of their 1985 telemovie North and South.
Kirstie Alley shows off her ever-decreasing frame at her book The Art of Men signing
