Donald Trump met Mitt Romney for a second time despite one of his top aides launching a public campaign against offering the former Massachusetts governor the post of secretary of state.
Donald Trump had dinner with Mitt Romney and the president-elect’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus.
Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke out against Mitt Romney on November 27, saying Donald Trump’s supporters felt “betrayed” he would consider the 2012 Republican nominee for the prominent role.
Photo Getty Images
Mitt Romney was one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics during the campaign.
The president-elect will also sit down with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.
The two men are leading contenders for the all-important diplomatic post.
Earlier, Donald Trump met retired General David Petraeus.
In a tweet after their meeting on November 28, Donald Trump said he was “very impressed” with the former CIA director.
On November 29, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to meet Mitt Romney for a second time despite one of his top aides launching a public campaign against the former Massachusetts governor’s nomination.
Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke out against Mitt Romney on November 27, saying Donald Trump’s supporters felt “betrayed” he would consider the 2012 Republican nominee for the prominent role.
Mitt Romney was one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics during the campaign.
Donald Trump will also sit down with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.
The two men are leading contenders for the all-important diplomatic post.
Earlier, Donald Trump met retired General David Petraeus. He said he was “very impressed” with the former CIA director in a tweet after their meeting on November 28.
David Petraeus pleaded guilty in 2015 to mishandling classified information over documents he had shared with his biographer Paula Broadwell, with whom he was also having an affair.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus has been put on probation and fined for leaking material to his mistress Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus resigned from his post at the CIA in 2012 after it emerged he was having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
The retired four-star general could have faced a year in prison, after his guilty plea two months ago.
David Petraeus led the 2007 troop surge in the Iraq war and served as commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
He reached a plea bargain with prosecutors after admitting to leaking sensitive material to Paula Broadwell while she was working on a book about him.
Prosecutors said that he gave her eight binders of classified material in 2011, which he had improperly kept from his time leading the war in Afghanistan.
In a federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, David Petraeus was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $100,000.
Prosecutors recommended the same length of probation, but a smaller fine of $40,000.
Judge David Kessler raised the fine to “reflect the seriousness of the offence”.
Appearing in court before the sentencing, David Petraeus apologized for his actions.
Former CIA director David Petraeus has reached a plea deal with the US Department of Justice in which he will admit to mishandling classified materials.
It ends a long investigation into whether he provided secret information to his mistress Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus resigned from his post at the CIA in 2012, after it emerged he was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
A DoJ statement said a plea agreement had been filed.
The deal means that David Petraeus will plead guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, but could avoid an embarrassing trial.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, the New York Times reported.
Photo AP
The retired four-star general was in charge of America’s recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was once considered a contender for the Republican presidential ticket.
David Petraeus had an affair with Paula Broadwell in 2011 during which time she was interviewing him for a biography she was writing.
Three days after the 2012 general election, David Petraeus resigned as the director of the CIA and admitted to the affair but at the time he denied any criminal wrongdoing.
The FBI discovered the affair during a cyberstalking investigation following allegations made by one of the former general’s friends, Jill Kelley.
They determined that Paula Broadwell had been sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, and during the investigation they discovered evidence that suggested David Petraeus had shared the classified information.
Ex-CIA director David Petraeus should be charged with providing classified information to former mistress Paula Broadwell, prosecutors have recommended.
The New York Times first reported the news, citing officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A decorated former general, David Petraeus resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after details of his affair with Paula Broadwell emerged.
He was a commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before taking the role.
A US Justice Department investigation is focusing on whether David Petraeus gave Paula Broadwell access to his CIA email and other classified information while director of the organization, the newspaper says.
FBI agents discovered classified documents on Paula Broadwell’s computer after David Petraeus quit, according to the New York Times.
Photo AP
The recommendations to press criminal charges from the FBI and US Justice Department would leave Attorney General Eric Holder with a decision on whether to seek an indictment, which could see David Petraeus jailed if found guilty.
David Petraeus has said he never provided classified information to Paula Broadwell, according to the paper.
The affair reportedly began in 2011, while Paula Broadwell was working on a biography of David Petraeus.
In the same year, David Petraeus resigned from his commanding position in Afghanistan to take on the CIA role.
David Petraeus resigned from the CIA in 2012, saying he had shown “extremely poor judgment” in conducting the affair.
President Barack Obama paid tribute to David Petraeus at the time, saying he had “provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades”.
David Petraeus is urging members of Congress to support President Barack Obama’s plan for military intervention in Syria.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is suspected of launching chemical attacks on his own people, killing more than 1,400, including hundreds of children.
Former CIA director and retired Army General David Petraeus says military action in Syria is “necessary” to deter other nations – like Iran and North Korea – from using similar weapons.
While President Barack Obama could have used military force in Syria without the approval of Congress, he opted to put the decision to a vote. Even if Congress doesn’t approve the president’s plan – which seems likely given the bi-partisan objections to intervening in yet another war in the Middle East – Barack Obama still has the authority to launch an attack.
“Failure of Congress to approve the president’s request would have serious ramifications not just in the Mideast but around the world,” David Petraeus said in a statement to POLITICO.
President Barack Obama is using gruesome footage that shows the carnage in the suburbs of Demascus following the August 21, attack, when the White House alleges Bashar al-Assad launched sarin gas in areas considered to be rebel strongholds.
David Petraeus is urging members of Congress to support President Barack Obama’s plan for military intervention in Syria
In one of the more heartbreaking videos, a room is full of what appear to be the lifeless bodies of dozens of children. In another, men are seen foaming at the mouth and having convulsions.
In all, 1,429 people were killed in the vicious attack, including at least 426 children.
David Petraeus, who is widely respected amongst lawmakers when it comes to military matters, could help persuade members of Congress to support the White House’s plan for Syria.
“Military action against the Syrian regime is, thus, necessary not just to deter future use of chemical weapons in Syria and elsewhere, but also to ensure that Iran, North Korea and other would-be aggressors never underestimate the United States’ resolve to take necessary military action when other tools prove insufficient,” David Petraeus said in the statement.
David Petraeus served as the U.S. commander for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. He was tapped by Barack Obama to be the director of the CIA in 2011 but was forced to resign after an affair he had with his biographer went public.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also have publicly supported the president’s call for military intervention in Syria.
On Monday – when Congress is back in session – President Barack Obama will sit for interviews with six different television networks in an attempt to win public support for his plan for Syria. The interviews will be conducted by ABC’s Diane Sawyer, CBS’s Scott Pelley, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Fox’s Chris Wallace, NBC’s Brian Williams and PBS’s Gwen Ifill.
Congress is expected to vote on the matter later this week, as support for Barack Obama’s plan continues to dwindle.
President Barack Obama last week canceled a trip to California so he could stay in Washington to continue lobbying for intervention in Syria. The president was scheduled to attend a $324,000 a plate fundraiser at the home of Marta Kauffman, the co-creator of the NBC sitcom Friends.
The newly released White House Benghazi emails reveal the then CIA-Director David Petraeus strongly objected to the Obama administration’s version of events of the terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Libya.
David Petraeus, who was forced to resign in disgrace in November after an extra-marital affair with Paula Broadwell became public, wanted to see more detail made available, including a warning issued from the CIA about plans for an embassy attack.
The documents give a glimpse into the administration’s message control as officials carefully debated via email which details U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice should highlight when she went on talk shows five days later to discuss the September 11 assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
The White House on Wednesday released 99 pages of emails and a single page of hand-written notes made by Petraeus’ deputy, Mike Morell, after a meeting at the White House the day before U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice began giving interviews to the media based on the agreed “talking points”.
On that page, Mike Morell scratched out from the CIA’s early drafts of talking points mentions of al-Qaeda, the experience of fighters in Libya, Islamic extremists and a warning to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on the eve of the attacks of calls for a demonstration.
“No mention of the cable to Cairo, either?” David Petraeus wrote after receiving Mike Morell’s edited version, developed after an intense back-and-forth among Obama administration officials.
“Frankly, I’d just as soon not use this, then.”
Senior administration officials told reporters Wednesday that Mike Morell made the changes to the talking points because of his own concerns that they could prejudge an FBI investigation into who was responsible for the September 11th, 2012, attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
The officials said Mike Morell also didn’t think it was fair to disclose the CIA’s advance warning without giving Hillary Clinton’s State Department a chance to explain how it responded.
The officials spoke on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the emails on the record.
Officials said that Mike Morell acted on his own judgement and not with any pressure coming down from the State Department.
However, when David Petraeus received the final draft of the media talking points he was dismissive, saying that the reduced list would not satisfy the House Democrat who had asked for it.
“This is certainly not what Vice Chairman Ruppersberger was hoping to get,” David Petraeus wrote, in reference to Representative C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
The White House released the emails to the media after some of them leaked on Friday and seemed to suggest that President Barack Obama’s national security team may have altered the talking points for political gain.
And while the White House claims these are all the correspondence that occurred in the aftermath of the terror attack on Benghazi, they suggest more of battle between the State Department and the CIA – rather than the president’s own team.
“In recent days, these e-mails have been selectively and inaccurately read out to the media,” said a White House spokesman, Eric Schultz.
Critics have highlighted an email by then-State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that expressed concern that any mention of prior warnings or the involvement of al-Qaeda would give congressional Republicans ammunition to attack the administration in the weeks before the presidential election. Fighting terror was one of President Barack Obama’s re-election strong points.
That email was among those released by the White House, sent by Victoria Nuland on September 14th at 7:39 p.m. to officials in the White House, State Department and CIA.
“I have serious concerns about all the parts highlighted below, and arming members of Congress to start making assertions to the media that we ourselves are not making because we don’t want to prejudice the investigation,” she wrote.
In another, Victoria Nuland sends the White House and intelligence officials an email warning that the talking points could be “abused” by opposition politicians “to beat the State Department for not paying attention to agency warnings so why do we want to feed that either?”.
White House Benghazi emails reveal the then CIA-Director David Petraeus strongly objected to the Obama administration’s version of events of the terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Libya
The emails were shared with Congress earlier this year as a condition for allowing the nomination of John Brennan for CIA director to move forward.
The general counsel for the national intelligence director’s office briefed members and staff from the Senate Intelligence Committee and leadership on the emails on February 15th at a session in which staff could take notes.
A similar briefing took place March 19 for the House Intelligence Committee and leadership staff.
An interim report last month from the Republicans on five House committees criticized the Obama administration and mentioned the emails, but the issue exploded last Friday when new details emerged.
Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee read some of the emails aloud last Wednesday at a hearing with State Department officials.
The next day, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called on the White House to release the emails.
Congressional officials selectively shared parts of the emails, and new revelations emerged Friday that showed State Department and other administration officials pressing for references to terror groups and prior warnings to be deleted, expressing concerns about the political implications.
The White House released the full set of emails sent to Congress under the pressure in hopes of putting an end to the controversy that has dogged the administration for months.
The White House says congressional Republicans have misrepresented some of them.
The emails released by the White House were partially blacked out, including to remove names of senders and recipients who are career employees at the CIA and elsewhere.
The names were replaced with references to the office where they worked.
The talking points were used by Rice in her appearance on five news shows on Sunday, September 16, and also sent to Congress.
An official with the CIA’s office of congressional affairs whose name was blacked out sent the final version to David Petraeus on Saturday, September 15, at 12:51 p.m.
“As mentioned last night, State had voiced strong concerns with the original text due to the criminal investigation,” the official wrote.
David Petraeus responded at 2:27 saying he’d prefer not to even use them in that form.
But he said the decision was up to the White House’s national security staff.
“NSS’s call, to be sure; however, this is certainly not what Vice Chairman [Dutch] Ruppersberger was hoping to get for unclas use. Regardless, thanks for the great work.”
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
At a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said there has been “very, very substantial progress” in the investigation into who was responsible for the twin nighttime attacks in Benghazi.
Earlier this month, the FBI said it was seeking information on three people who were on the grounds of the diplomatic mission when it was attacked.
The FBI posted photographs of the three people and said they may be able to provide information to help in the investigation.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington State, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday’s release of the emails was a “wise choice”.
There was little in the roughly 100 pages of emails about Susan Rice’s “talking points” that had not been leaked previously.
While awkward for the White House, releasing the emails was an effort to counter complaints from Republicans and the media that President Barack Obama’s administration is secretive.
They included an email confirming perhaps the most damaging charge that administration officials removed mention from Susan Rice’s talking points that the CIA had warned of an al-Qaeda threat in the area of the eastern Libyan city before the attacks.
In the Benghazi emails, then-State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland raised concerns about references to intelligence about the threat from militants in eastern Libya.
Victoria Nuland wrote that she had “serious concerns” that the talking points would provide members of Congress with material to “beat the State Department for not paying attention to [Central Intelligence] Agency warnings” about threats in the region.
It was not clear who she was referring to but Republicans have tried to link former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2016, to the controversy over Benghazi.
“The seemingly political nature of the State Department’s concerns raises questions about the motivations behind these changes and who at the State Department was seeking them,” said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner.
Republicans say the talking points were an attempt to portray the attacks as arising from a spontaneous protest, and not an organized militant assault, so as to protect Barack Obama in last year’s presidential campaign from any charges that he was weak on fighting terrorism.
The White House vehemently denies any cover-up and emphasizes that the controversy over the talking points focuses on intelligence that eventually evolved. The emails, officials said, showed a normal back and forth between government agencies on a fluid national security event.
“Collectively these emails make clear that the interagency process, including the White House’s interactions, were focused on providing the facts as we knew them based on the best information available at the time and protecting an ongoing investigation,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.
Officials also suggested that Victoria Nuland was not the only one with concerns about the original talking points.
President Barack Obama has announced he will nominate US Air Force General Philip Breedlove as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Gen. Philip Breedlove, whose nomination was endorsed by ambassadors from the 28 NATO allies, is expected to succeed Admiral James Stavridis.
He is currently the commander of US Air Force units in Europe and Africa.
President Barack Obama has announced he will nominate US Air Force General Philip Breedlove as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe
US Marine General John Allen, who led NATO forces in Afghanistan, was originally nominated for the job.
But John Allen’s nomination was put on hold as he was embroiled in a scandal that led to the resignation of CIA director and former general David Petraeus.
A Pentagon investigation cleared Gen. John Allen. Last month, he said he was retiring, forgoing the nomination to the top US military post in Europe because of his wife’s health.
The post requires US Senate confirmation, but Gen. Philip Breedlove is expected to take over the post this spring.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus has apologized to those he “hurt and let down”, in his first public speech since resigning over his extramarital affair with biographer Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus said at the University of Southern California military event his actions had caused “pain for family and friends”.
But the retired general said he hoped his fall would teach others that “life doesn’t stop with such a mistake and must go on”.
David Petraeus quit after his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell was discovered during an FBI investigation.
He was speaking to about 600 guests at the University of Southern California’s annual Reserve Officers’ Training Corps dinner.
David Petraeus has apologized to those he “hurt and let down”, in his first public speech since resigning over his extramarital affair with biographer Paula Broadwell
David Petraeus received a standing ovation, then began his speech by saying: “Needless to say, I join you keenly aware that I am regarded in a different light now than I was a year ago.”
The former CIA chief said he was also “keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing”.
David Petraeus added: “So please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret – and apologize for – the circumstances that led me to resign from the CIA and caused such pain for my family, friends and supporters.”
David Petraeus has kept a low profile since resigning on November 9, 2012.
His lawyer said David Petraeus had spent much of the time with his family.
A harassment complaint by Florida socialite Jill Kelley over emails she had received had led the FBI to unmask the affair.
Jill Kelley knew David Petraeus through social contacts on the Florida military base where US Central Command is headquartered.
When the FBI investigated, it traced the emails to an apparently jealous Paula Broadwell.
Jill Kelley also knew the top US general in Afghanistan, General John Allen. John Allen also sent emails to Jill Kelley but has been cleared of any misconduct.
Towards the end of his speech, David Petraeus said he hoped his experience “can be instructive to others who stumble or indeed fall as far as I did. One learns, after all, that life doesn’t stop with such a mistake. It can and must go on”.
David Petraeus added: “I know that I can never fully assuage the pain that I inflicted on those closest to me and on a number of others.
“I can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent to the values to which I subscribed before slipping my moorings and, as best as possible, to make amends to those I have hurt and let down.”
Former CIA director David Petraeus is making his first public speech since resigning in November over his extramarital affair with biographer Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus is scheduled to speak on Tuesday night at a University of Southern California event honoring the military as he carves out a role for himself as a voice on energy, economic and veterans issues.
A prepared text of his speech, obtained by The New York Times, indicates David Petraeus will apologize for the affair with Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus is expected to acknowledge that he’s “regarded in a different light now” than he was a year ago and that he’ll try to make amends and move forward as best he can.
“I am also keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing,” David Petraeus will say, according to The New York Times.
“So please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret – and apologize for – the circumstances that led me to resign from the C.I.A. and caused such pain for my family, friends and supporters.”
David Petraeus will apologize for the affair with Paula Broadwell in his first public speech since resignation at a University of Southern California event
David Petraeus, 60, a famed Iraq and Afghan war, is a general retired from the military in 2011 who went on to lead the CIA.
President Barack Obama accepted his resignation from the CIA on November 9, saying David Petraeus had “made our country safer and stronger”, after he admitted having an affair with Paula Broadwell, the author of All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
David Petraeus will talk about the importance of supporting the families of military personnel and will close his speech by once again referring to his mistakes.
“I know that I can never fully assuage the pain that I inflicted on those closest to me and on a number of others,” the decorated general will say.
“I can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent with the values to which I subscribed before slipping my moorings and, as best as possible, to make amends to those I have hurt and let down.”
David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell affair was discovered during an FBI investigation into emails Broadwell sent to another woman she saw as a rival for Petraeus’ attention – emails the other woman viewed as threatening.
He told his staffers at the time that he was guilty of “extremely poor judgment” in the affair.
“Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours,” David Petraeus told CIA employees in a statement.
After the affair, David Petraeus testified behind closed doors about the Benghazi attack but kept out of the public eye after the very powerful media storm which blew up in the wake of the scandal.
In recent months, however, David Petraeus has increasingly appeared in public for lunches and dinners with former colleagues, foreign officials, members of Congress and policy experts.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus was betrayed by his own bodyguards and vengeful high-ranking enemies in the CIA, who made sure his affair with Paula Broadwell was exposed to the public, a new book claims.
It comes from two retired special operations commandos – a Navy SEAL and a Green Beret – who say they discovered a plot against David Petraeus while doing research about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Senior CIA officers targeted David Petraeus because they didn’t like the way he was running the agency – focusing more on paramilitary operations than intelligence analysis. They used their political clout and their connections to force an FBI investigation of his affair with Paula Broadwell and make it public, according to Benghazi: The Definitive Report.
Jack Murphy and co-author Brandon Webb also revealed that the September 11 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, was retaliation by Islamist militants who had been targeted by covert U.S. military operations.
The book claims that neither Chris Stevens nor even David Petraeus knew about the raids by American special operations troops, which had “kicked a hornet’s nest” among the heavily-armed fighters after the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
John Brennan, President Barack Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser, had been authorizing “unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure”, according to the e-book.
John Brennan is Barack Obama’s pick to replace David Petraeus as head of the CIA.
Benghazi: The Definitive Report, published by William Morrow and Company, is due out in e-book on Tuesday. The authors, Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy, are editors of SOFREP.com, a site devoted to news and stories written by current and former special operations commandos.
Perhaps the most startling accusation in the book is that David Petraeus’ affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell was leaked by the
members of his personal protection detail.
The authors say that senior intelligence officers working on the 7th floor of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, used their political clout to ensure that the FBI investigated the former Army general’s personal life.
They then told David Petraeus that they would publicly humiliate him if he didn’t admit the affair and resign.
“It was well known to Petraeus’s Personal Security Detachment [bodyguards] that he and Broadwell were having an affair. He wasn’t the only high-ranking Agency head or general engaged in extramarital relations, but when the 7th floor wanted Petraeus out, they cashed in their chips,” Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy write.
The book continues: “The reality of the situation is that high-ranking CIA officers had already discovered the affair by consulting with Petraeus’s PSD and then found a way to initiate an FBI investigation in order to create a string of evidence and an investigative trail that led to the information they already had – in other words, an official investigation that could be used to force Petraeus to resign.”
Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy said the CIA bureaucracy wanted David Petraeus out of the CIA. Senior officials were furious over the way he had been running the agency since he was appointed in September 2011.
David Petraeus was betrayed by his own bodyguards, who made sure his affair with Paula Broadwell was exposed to the public, claims the book
David Petraeus was turning the agency’s focus from intelligence gathering and analysis to paramilitary operations, including drone strikes.
Additionally, he ran the CIA like a four-star general, instead of treating it like a political institution, the authors say. His management style made countless powerful enemies within the CIA.
On November 9, three days after Barack Obama’s reelection, David Petraeus shocked the USA by resigning as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and admitting that he had been sleeping with Paula Broadwell – whom he had met while she was researching her biography of him, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
Before he was publicly castigated, David Petraeus was the most high-profile and highly-respected commander in the military. His counter-insurgency strategy was credited with turning the tide in the Iraq War and securing the country so U.S. troops could withdraw. He also commanded a surge of American forces in Afghanistan.
David Petraeus, 60, earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University and was hailed as a “warrior scholar”. Before his resignation, he was mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee for Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
His public image is in shambles after the affair went public.
Media reports indicate that the FBI began investigating David Petraeus’ affair with Paula Broadwell after Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, a friend of Petraeus and his wife Holly, reported that she had received threatening emails from the mistress warning her to stay away from the CIA director.
The authors say that Jill Kelley’s report may have started in the FBI investigation – but CIA officers pressured the Justice Department to keep the inquiry open.
Brandon Webb said his sources in the FBI told him federal agents wanted to close down their investigation when they learned that nothing illegal had happened, but they were told to keep digging. The FBI investigators, Brandon Webb says, never wanted to out David Petraeus’ affair.
Jack Murphy said he learned of the “palace coup” from current and former members of the CIA.
The authors claim that David Petraeus was already on his way out when the scandal broke. They learned weeks before that he was interviewing for teaching jobs at Princeton University.
David Petraeus was furious, they say, because he was kept in the dark about the raids being conducted without his knowledge by the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) across Libya and North Africa.
Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy claim that the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate and a CIA outpost in Benghazi proved to David Petraeus that he was an outsider in the Obama administration and that he would remain marginalized as long as he was at the CIA.
The central premise of Benghazi: The Definitive Report is that the attacks were precipitated by secret raids
JSOC had performed in Libya. An attack on the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia days before September 11 may have been the final straw.
Heavily-armed militants with Ansar al-Sharia attacked the consulate on September 11 as retaliation, the book claims. Ambassador Chris Stevens and Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith died of smoke inhalation when insurgents set fire to the consulate.
After the raid, the militants launched a second attack against a CIA annex across town. It was there that CIA security contractors Ty Woods and Glen Doherty – both former U.S. Navy SEALs – were killed when their position took a direct hit from an enemy mortar.
Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy said they wrote the book to reveal “the truth” behind the attack. They say news accounts of the incident have often been inaccurate because journalists have not had inside access to the people who were on the ground at the time.
The authors have been frustrated, they say, by politicians who have attempted to twist the facts of the case to suit their own ends. Conservatives sought to use the attack as an election issue and place the blame on Barack Obama.
Democrats and the Obama administration have worked to deflect responsibility and downplay the warning signs that were present before the consulate was raided.
Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy claim that the “inside” story of the attack – as told by their connections in the CIA and special operations units of the military – show that Brennan never warned the CIA or Chris Stevens about ongoing U.S. military operations in the country.
State Department and the intelligence community known about what was happening, they would have stepped up security in Benghazi and could have prevented the tragedy.
Both authors are well-positioned to access classified insider information about the attack. They run SOFREP.com, a news site written and edited by current and former members of the special operations community.
Brandon Webb served as a Navy SEAL for ten years and deployed overseas five times. He left the Navy in 2006. Jack Murphy served eight years in the U.S. Army, including as an Army Ranger and a Special Forces Green Beret. He deployed overseas three times before retiring in 2010. He is currently studying political science at Columbia University.
The White House has announced it will go ahead with the nomination of General John R. Allen as NATO commander in Europe.
The announcement comes after John Allen was cleared of allegations he had “inappropriate” communication with Florida socialite Jill Kelley.
Gen. John Allen is to relinquish command of the NATO mission in Afghanistan next month.
Unrelated harassment complaints by Jill Kelley led to the revelation of an affair between CIA chief David Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
General Allen’s nomination to lead the NATO command in Europe was placed on hold after it was revealed last year he had communicated repeatedly with Jill Kelley, whom he met when he led US Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
The emails between the two first came to light as part of a wider investigation into email harassment against Jill Kelley, who knew both Gen. John Allen and David Petraeus, a former general, through social contacts at the base.
When the FBI investigated, it traced the emails to David Petraeus’s biographer Paula Broadwell, bringing to light her affair with the CIA chief.
The White House has announced it will go ahead with the nomination of General John R. Allen as NATO commander in Europe
Earlier reports suggested Gen. John Allen had exchanged over 3,000 emails, some described as inappropriate and flirtatious, with Jill Kelley.
The Afghanistan commander had also written a letter to a judge in support of Jill Kelley’s twin sister in a messy child custody dispute.
A spokesman for Gen. John Allen said the general was “obviously pleased” to be cleared of the charges he had violated the prohibition against conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
“From the outset, the general placed his faith in – and fully supported – the investigative process,” Maj. David Nevers said.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the defence department “was pleased to learn that allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated”, adding that Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had “complete confidence in the continued leadership” of Gen. John Allen.
Defence officials told the Washington Post that the full investigation had shown that there were in fact only several hundred emails exchanged between Gen. John Allen and Jill Kelley, mostly notes on current news topics and social matters or compliments on General Allen’s television interviews.
“Some of the messages are not the sort of things you would print in a family newspaper,” the official said.
“But that doesn’t mean he violated military regulations by sending and receiving them.”
General John R. Allen has been cleared of misconduct by the Pentagon for more than 3,000 emails exchanged with Florida socialite Jill Kelley and revealed during David Petraeus scandal.
John Allen’s nomination to head NATO commander in Europe had been put on hold amid reports the emails were inappropriate.
He is due to relinquish command of his Afghanistan post in February.
Harassment complaints by Jill Kelley led the FBI to unmask an affair between CIA Director David Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell. He later resigned.
Defence officials told the Associated Press that the White House had not decided whether to go forward with General John Allen’s nomination to Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the defence department “was pleased to learn that allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated”, adding that defence secretary Leon Panetta had “complete confidence in the continued leadership” of Gen. John Allen.
The emails first came to light as part of a wider investigation into email harassment against Jill Kelley, who knew both Gen. John Allen and David Petraeus, a former general, through social contacts on the Florida army base where US Central Command is headquartered.
When the FBI investigated, it traced the emails to David Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell, bringing to light her affair with the CIA chief.
General John R. Allen has been cleared of misconduct by the Pentagon for more than 3,000 emails exchanged with Florida socialite Jill Kelley and revealed during David Petraeus scandal
Earlier reports suggested Gen. John Allen and exchanged thousands of emails, some described as inappropriate and flirtatious, with Jill Kelley.
The Afghanistan commander had also written a letter to a judge in support of Natalie Khawam, Jill Kelley’s twin sister, in a messy custody dispute.
After being contacted by the FBI, Leon Panetta announced the inquiry into Gen. John Allen and put the commander’s nomination on hold.
Defence officials told the Washington Post that the full investigation had shown that there were in fact only several hundred emails exchanged between the two, mostly notes on current news topics, social invites or compliments on Gen. John Allen’s television interviews.
“Some of the messages are not the sort of things you would print in a family newspaper,” the official said.
“But that doesn’t mean he violated military regulations by sending and receiving them.”
In addition to the inquiry into Gen. John Allen, Leon Panetta asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review ethics training after a series of misconduct cases.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has not released the results of his review but has said he found that ethics training for senior leaders should begin earlier in an officer’s career and be reinforced more frequently.
Florida socialite Jill Kelley has finally broken her silence over David Petraeus affair since the scandal erupted three months ago and said she never met Paula Broadwell, who tried to “blackmail, extort and threaten her”.
Jill Kelley – who has been described as the “other other woman” in David Petraeus affair – has been accused of many things since the scandal erupted.
The Lebanese-born socialite was accused of having an affair with David Petraeus as they exchanged more than 30,000 emails, that she had an affair with General John Allen and that she used cancer charity funds for entertainment purposes.
Jill Kelley, 37, said from the moment the blackmailing email was sent to an account she shared with her husband Scott, her life was turned upside down as she went from wealthy Tampa socialite to a maligned, scamming mistress.
She said she was terrified by the anonymous email and admitted in the barrage that followed there was “blackmail, extortion, threats”.
She would later learn they were from biographer Paula Broadwell, whose affair with David Petraeus triggered his resignation as CIA director.
Speaking to The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz, Jill Kelley said she had no idea who Paula was or of her relationship with Petraeus.
When Jill Kelley complained to a friend in the FBI, she had no idea of the chain of events she was about to set in motion – including finding herself accused of having an affair with General John Allen, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, which both flatly deny.
“I knew I was being stalked. I did what anybody else would have done when they were feeling threatened, to go seek protection from somebody I could trust,” she said.
Jill Kelley has finally broken her silence over David Petraeus affair since the scandal erupted three months ago
In the interview, Jill Kelley mainly dwells on the impact the scandal has had on her husband and children, recounting a party she threw soon after for her daughter’s seventh birthday.
“It was devastating. To have your privacy invaded is truly…there are no words to describe it,” she said.
“Instead of enjoying a family birthday party, I had paparazzi storming my front lawn, pushing down the door. There are no words to describe the panic and fear at that moment.
“As much as I appreciate that [the media] want to be the first one to come out with a headline, regardless of whether they did any fact-checking, they have to consider the impact they have on our life and our children’s lives,” Jill Kelley says.
“Just because it’s repeated doesn’t make it true. It was living a nightmare.”
Jill Kelley said a lot of reports in the media were not true, or greatly exaggerated, including that she had exchanged as many as 30,000 emails with Gen. John Allen.
While she did not provide an estimate, she said it was probably somewhere in the hundreds.
When asked about her relationship with John Allen, whom she met when she hosted a birthday party for David Petraeus’ wife Holly,
“We’re friends, good friends,” she said.
That friendship continued by email when Allen was sent to Kabul.
The general’s promotion to be commander of NATO forces is on hold while investigators examine the email traffic between him and Jill Kelley – but sources have described it as flirtatious and potentially inappropriate.
But she contests this, saying they were sent from an account she shared with her husband and that sometimes John Allen’s wife was even copied in.
Jill Kelley said it has been particularly difficult for her cancer surgeon husband, who she deems “an honorable guy” but what she wants the public to know is simple.
“I’m a dedicated mother, a loving wife. We have a very happy, close family. I support the troops. I take pride in feeding the homeless in our community. This whole situation is just very sad.”
In the fallout from the Petraeus scandal, which cost the decorated former General his job as CIA director, Jill Kelly also lost her title as an Honorary Consul to South Korea.
She was also banned from visiting MacDill Airforce base in her role as a social liaison officer and told to remove vanity license plates that carried the title “Honorary Consul”.
Jill Kelley, a mother of two, has never spoken publicly about her involvement in the scandal but is believed to be writing a tell-all book.
Fox News chairman Roger Ailes allegedly sent political analyst Kathleen McFarland to Afghanistan to tell then-General David Petraeus that he should run for president in 2012 and that Rupert Murdoch would “bankroll” the campaign.
Bob Woodward of The Washington Post obtained recorded conversations between David Petraeus and Kathleen McFarland, a Fox News analyst who flew to Kabul in the spring of 2011 to pitch the idea to him.
At the time, David Petraeus was the commander of the Allied Forces in Afghanistan, and Kathleen McFarland said that if President Barack Obama didn’t offer him a position like the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or something comparable, Petraeus should consider a run for the Republican nomination.
Apparently David Petraeus was unaware that the conversation was being recorded, and Bob Woodward has since gained access to those tapes.
Kathleen McFarland is heard saying that the “advice to you from Roger Ailes is…. He says that if you’re offered (JCS) chairman, take it. If you’re offered anything else, don’t take it; resign in six months and run for president,” according to The Washington Post.
“Tell him if I ever ran…but I won’t…but if I ever ran, I’d take him up on his offer… He said he would quit Fox,” David Petraeus said of Roger Ailes’ alleged offer to help run his possible campaign.
David Petraeus was apparently clear in his rejection of the offer, but also reaffirmed that he respected and liked Roger Ailes.
Fox News chairman Roger Ailes allegedly sent political analyst Kathleen McFarland to Afghanistan to tell then-General David Petraeus that he should run for president in 2012
In the light of his resignation from his CIA post and ensuing sex scandal, another one of David Petraeus’ reasonings against a presidential run is particularly interesting.
He said during the taped conversation that he would not run because “my wife would divorce me. And I love my wife… we have a beautiful house, with his and hers bathrooms, believe it or not. I just want to live in it. I’ve never spent a night in it.”
He also went on to say that in addition to heading up the Joint Chiefs, David Petraeus would consider heading up the CIA as its director if he was offered the position.
He explained that since the military efforts in the Middle East would be ramping down in the following months, much emphasis would be placed on the intelligence community, which piqued David Petraeus’ interest in running the CIA.
That prediction came true just a few weeks after the conversation took place.
When asked for comment for The Washington Post piece, Roger Ailes said that while he did ask McFarland to bring the idea up to David Petraeus, he never meant it seriously.
He explained that he suggested the conversation as a way to get a message across that he felt that, in the early stages of the Republican presidential primary, the main candidates left something to be desired and David Petraeus would shake up the field.
David Petraeus has admitted to close friend James Shelton that he “screwed up royally” over the affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell – and confirmed for the first time that his wife is standing by him.
In his most frank comments on the scandal, David Petraeus said that he had created “enormous difficulty” for Holly Petraeus but revealed that she has not kicked him out.
In a letter David Petraeus said that Team Petraeus will survive and that he is “incredibly fortunate” to be married to such a forgiving woman.
He also addressed his resignation for the first time and wrote: “I paid the price (appropriately) and I sought to do the right thing, at the end of the day.”
The letter was sent on November 20 to his close friend of three decades, retired Brigadier General James Shelton, who considers himself a father figure to him.
Brig. Gen. James Shelton blamed biographer Paula Broadwell for the affair as Petraeus was the “innocent one when it came to relationships”.
He also claimed that she is a “savvy woman” who knows a lot more about matters of the heart than David Petraeus, who has spent the bulk of his life in the military and has been married for 37 years.
David Petraeus’ letter appears to confirm reports that his wife is “furious” at him over his behavior, which came to light earlier this month when in a statement admitted he had had an extra-marital affair and quit as head of the CIA.
The New York Times has reported that he has resigned himself to being “in the doghouse” for at least a year and now passes the time sitting around his home emailing friends.
David Petraeus, 60, and his wife Holly spent Thanksgiving together trying to rebuild their shattered marriage and regain the trust of their two grown up children at their home in Arlington, Virginia.
Paula Broadwell, 40, did that same with her husband Scott and their two young sons at their mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina.
David Petraeus has admitted to close friend James Shelton that he screwed up royally over the affair with Paula Broadwell
The letter David Petraeus sent to Brig. Gen. James Shelton, a Vietnam Veteran who fought with the famous Black Lion Battalion, was on Four Star General letterhead and had the post mark from the PO Box in Arlington, that he uses for correspondence.
It began by thanking Brig. Gen. James Shelton for the sending him some pictures of his own family and a note which said he still had faith in him.
It read: “I screwed up royally. I paid the price (appropriately) and I sought to do the right thing, at the end of the day.
“Team Petraeus will survive though have obviously created enormous difficulty for us. Holly is however once again demonstrating how incredibly fortunate I was to marry her.”
Brig. Gen. James Shelton, who has been awarded three Bronze Stars for bravery, said that he still thinks that David Petraeus is the best officer has ever seen – even if he is a love rat.
In his opinion the resignation was an “overreaction” for “human things he got involved with”.
James Shelton said: “I never knew David as being a woman chaser – he never gave a damn about anybody other than Holly.
“It never entered my mind that he would get involved with anybody else.
“Paula was more savvy than Dave about the nature of the things that they got involved with.”
General James Shelton explained that Paula Broadwell interviewed him whilst doing research for her biography of David Petraeus, titled All In.
He said that Paula Broadwell was “very persuasive” and managed to get him to talk about his friend on the phone without having to meet in person.
Brig. Gen. James Shelton, 76, said: “She was a beautiful woman, very intelligent and if David would say something she would know what he was talking about.
“They were both West Point Academy graduates, that’s what put them together. She had a lot of the qualities that he had.
“She’s also a savvy woman. She’s not a kid. In a lot of ways I think she knows more about the world than Dave – I’m talking about sex.
“I don’t think Dave ever thought about that too much, he only thought about the Army and gave it everything he had.
“When he got close to her it became something new and different than what he had with his wife
“I don’t believe he had any relationships with anybody else (apart from Broadwell).
“He was the innocent one when it came to relationships. It wasn’t his bag. He was a soldier. He just wasn’t involved with it.”
James Shelton however said that alarm bells rang in his mind when Paula Broadwell told him that she was going to Afghanistan to “learn how Dave operated”.
He said: “I thought that because he was over there (Afghanistan) she might have been the only outlet he had for any kind of recreation, if you get what I mean.
“He’s a human dynamo, he works all the time and she was always following him around.
“I think Paula Broadwell was in love with him. I could see it happening.
“I could see that he has so many qualities that any woman with any sense would say: <<Boy! This guy – there doesn’t seem to be a better man than this around>>.”
Brig. Gen. James Shelton, who lives in Cape Haze, Florida, first met David Petraeus in the 1970s when they were serving together in Erzurum, Turkey when Petraeus was a lowly second lieutenant in the 173rd Airborne Divison.
James Shelton said: “I walked into a tent with a bottle of Ballantine whiskey that I’d stashed in my spare boots.
“I opened it and asked if anybody wanted some, and I’m pretty sure Dave was among those who said yes, so I served it in canteen cups.
“Even then he was so interested in what I had to say. He was asking me questions about everything – I liked the cut of his jib straight away.”
They met again when they served together in the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and stayed in touch ever since.
In one assessment of David Petraeus when he was just a captain, Brig. Gen. James Shelton described him as the “finest officer I have ever known”.
He said: “I regard David Petraeus as one of my sons – and I have three others. I feel like a father figure to him. I served in the army for 27 years and he was the best officer bar none.
“He is a giant of a man.”
David Petraeus’ letter in full
“Dear Jim (if I may)
I can’t thank you enough for your note, kind words and support. I can’t tell you how much it all meant.
I screwed up royally. I paid the price (appropriately) and I sought to do the right thing, at the end of the day.
Team Petraeus will survive though have obviously created enormous difficulty for us. Holly is however once again demonstrating how incredibly fortunate I was to marry her.
Beyond that thanks for sending me the photos and various items you did. It was good indeed to recall some of the good guys and the good days. Great stuff.
Jill Kelley, the Tampa socialite embroiled in the scandal that cost CIA Director David Petraeus his job, fought back Tuesday after more than two weeks of silence as her attorneys released emails, telephone recordings and other material that they say show she never tried to exploit her friendship with Petraeus.
Jill Kelley, through her attorneys, went on the attack against a New York businessman who accused her of incompetence in her work trying to set up a deal he was negotiating with South Korean companies; an attorney who accused her of name-dropping and of being a social climber; and the FBI agent who first leaked her name in connection with the Petraeus scandal.
Jill Kelley, 37, became the focus of national media attention earlier this month after it was revealed that she was the recipient of anonymous emails from Paula Broadwell, David Petraeus’ biographer and mistress.
Paula Broadwell allegedly told Jill Kelley she should stay away from the former general and General John Allen, who had replaced David Petraeus as leader of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
David Petraeus and John Allen had become friends with Jill Kelley and her husband, Scott Kelley, a noted cancer surgeon, when the generals served at U.S. Central Command, which is headquartered at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base. Jill Kelley became an unofficial social ambassador for the base, hosting numerous parties for the officers.
The scandal this week cost Jill Kelley her appointment as an honorary consul for the South Korean government, which she had gotten because of her friendship with David Petraeus. The Koreans said she had misused the title in her personal business dealings.
Jill Kelley’s attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to New York businessman Adam Victor; a complaint to the Florida bar against Tampa attorney Barry Cohen, and a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office demanding that it investigate to find out who in the FBI leaked her name to the news media. Representatives of attorney Abbe Lowell emailed copies of the letters to The Associated Press.
In one of the letters, Abbe Lowell asks W. Stephen Muldrow, the assistant U.S. Attorney in Tampa, why Jill and Scott Kelley’s names were released in the course of the FBI’s investigation of David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell. Abbe Lowell said federal privacy laws could be applicable to the couple’s information.
“As you know, there are several rules and laws that seek to protect United States citizens against such leaks,” Abbe Lowell wrote.
He also wanted to know whether the U.S. Attorney’s Office was investigating the source of the leaks.
“You no doubt have seen the tremendous attention that the Kelleys have received in the media,” wrote Abbe Lowell.
“All they did to receive this attention was to let law enforcement know that they had been the subjects of inappropriate and potentially threatening behavior by someone else.”
Jill Kelley fought back Tuesday after more than two weeks of silence saying she never tried to exploit her friendship with David Petraeus
Another letter spoke of a business deal that Jill Kelley tried to broker with South Korea.
Jill Kelley met Adam Victor in late August at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where they discussed having Kelley represent Victor’s company on a coal-gasification deal being negotiated with South Korean companies.
On August 30, according to the documents provided by Abbe Lowell’s office, Adam Victor sent Jill Kelley an email saying his company was seeking bids from four major Korean firms – Samsung, Hyundai, GS and GK – and that he expected the bidding to potentially reach $3 billion.
Jill Kelley reportedly requested $80 million for helping with the deal.
There are several back-and-forth emails through mid-September as Adam Victor and Jill Kelley tried to negotiate a fee for her work, with Kelley saying she was seeking 2% of the deal and Victor trying to clarify what she meant.
There were no other emails until Adam Victor sent one November 9, when Jill Kelley’s name surfaced in the Petraeus scandal. He wrote two more times after that before she responded.
When she finally did, he sent back another email in which he remarked: “When I heard about Petraeus, I thought of you.”
In a follow-up email, he asked if she was still in a position to help with Korea. She didn’t respond.
In a November 14 interview with the AP, Adam Victor said it had become clear that Jill Kelley was not a skilled negotiator and that he had wasted his time dealing with her.
In a letter released Tuesday and dated November 21, Abbe Lowell accused Adam Victor of seeking his “15 minutes of fame” by talking to the news media about his client.
Abbe Lowell said Adam Victor had defamed Jill Kelley with his clients and misstated her desire for 2% of the profits by saying she wanted 2% of the entire deal. Abbe Lowell also accused Adam Victor of unspecified inappropriate behavior toward Jill Kelley.
“If you want to continue seeking publicity for yourself, that is one thing,” Abbe Lowell wrote to Adam Victor.
“However, if you do that by maligning a person, that is something else.”
He then accused Adam Victor of casting Jill Kelley in a false light and suggested his attorney contact Abbe Lowell to discuss the matter.
Adam Victor told the AP late Tuesday that he never accused Jill Kelley of wrongdoing, only that she was naive and not an experienced negotiator. He also said his female assistant was present every time he met with Jill Kelley.
General David Petraeus’ daughter Anne beamed as she blogged about her Thanksgiving Day, spent with her new husband Matt Mauney – as the couple ran the “Turkey Trot” run near their home alongside her brother Steve.
Anne Petraeus, 30, showed no signs of the fallout over her father’s affair as she posted pictures of her Thanksgiving dinner on her websitefannetasticfood.com.
A close friend of David Petraeus said the disgraced general spent Thanksgiving with Holly, his wife-of-38-years, as the couple try to rebuild their shattered marriage.
The friend said: “I spoke to David before Thanksgiving and wished him and Holly happy holidays. I think that things are dying down.”
Anne Petraeus and husband Matt Mauney spend Thanksgiving Day at Turkey Trot run
A close friend of David Petraeus said the disgraced general spent Thanksgiving with Holly, his wife-of-38-years, as the couple try to rebuild their shattered marriage.
The friend said: “I spoke to David before Thanksgiving and wished him and Holly happy holidays. I think that things are dying down.”
General David Petraeus’ daughter Anne beamed as she blogged about her Thanksgiving Day, spent with her new husband Matt Mauney – as the couple ran the “Turkey Trot” run near their home alongside her brother Steve.
Anne Petraeus, 30, showed no signs of the fallout over her father’s affair as she posted pictures of her Thanksgiving dinner on her websitefannetasticfood.com.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Steve Boylan, a close friend of General David Petraeus and his former spokesman, had told how Holly Petraeus was “furious” at her husband’s betrayal.
Even though her husband was forced to resign over his shocking indiscretion, Holly Petraeus has been seen back at work with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where she is described as being a “tireless voice” for military families.
A spokesman for the organization said last week that she remains a “key leader” – despite the unwanted spotlight of her husband’s sex scandal – adding: “Mrs. Petraeus remains a key leader and valued employee of this organization. We will have no comment on her personal situation, nor will she release any statement.”
David Petraeus spent Thanksgiving with Holly, his wife-of-38-years, as the couple try to rebuild their shattered marriage
Col. Steve Boylan said General David Petraeus, 60, was still living at home in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife despite revelations of his eight-month affair with his biographer.
And describing Holly Petraeus, he said: “She is very classy, very unassuming. 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.”
David Petraeus, America’s most celebrated military leader in a generation, stepped down on November 9 as head of the CIA after admitting to an affair with Paula Broadwell, a counter-terrorism expert and lieutenant-colonel in the Army Reserve who had co-authored a biography of the general.
The FBI stumbled upon the affair when Jill Kelley, a Florida socialite and friend of the Petraeus family, asked investigators to look into threatening emails that turned out to be from an apparently jealous Paula Broadwell.
Paula Broadwell looks determined to prove that her marriage is back on track following the highly public fallout over her affair with ex-CIA chief General David Petraeus.
Paula Broadwell, 40, spent Thanksgiving with her husband Dr. Scott Broadwell and their young sons.
A family friend confirmed: “Paula and Scott are working things out.
“They spent Thanksgiving together at a friend’s beach house with their children. Paula is laying low, she is concentrating on her marriage and her family, that is her priority now.”
Paula Broadwell looks determined to prove that her marriage is back on track following the highly public fallout over her affair with ex-CIA chief General David Petraeus
Jill Kelley, the Florida socialite who exposed the affair which brought down CIA Director David Petraeus, has been sacked as an honorary consul for South Korea.
Jill Kelley, 37, was so proud of her status, which she was awarded thanks to her friendship with the country’s ambassador, that she had a custom licence plate made boasting of it.
But now the title has been taken away from her after a senior Korean official said she had tried to “peddle influence” in a way that was “inappropriate”.
Jill Kelley, a Tampa housewife who works as an “unpaid social liaison” at MacDill Air Force Base, unwittingly sparked the Petraeus scandal telling the FBI about “threatening” emails she had received from author Paula Broadwell.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Paula Broadwell had been having an affair with David Petraeus, who was subsequently forced to resign as director of the CIA.
Jill Kelley was appointed honorary consul for South Korea in August after becoming close to former ambassador Han Duk-Soo, who is said to be troubled by his unwitting role in the Petraeus affair.
When he recommended her for the post, he apparently alluded to her links with senior officials such as David Petraeus and General John Allen, who was dragged into the scandal when it emerged that he and Jill Kelley had exchanged thousands of emails.
As well as sporting a licence plate describing her as “Honorary Consul”, Jill Kelley requested “diplomatic protection” from media camped outside her door in the wake of David Petraeus’ resignation.
So she will doubtless be devastated to learn than the title has been withdrawn, according to the country’s deputy foreign minister Kim Kyou-hyun.
During a visit to Washington, he told the Yonhap news agency that Jill Kelley would no longer be allowed to hold the $2,500-a-year job.
“It’s not suitable to the status of honorary consul that [she] sought to be involved in commercial projects and peddle influence,” Kim Kyou-hyun said.
“It’s also inappropriate as honorary consul.”
A New York businessman said Jill Kelley was introduced to him at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August as someone whose friendship with David Petraeus would help facilitate a no-bid deal with South Korea on a coal-gasification project.
Jill Kelley would supposedly be in a position to help broker the billion-dollar deal directly with the Korean president, and expected a two percent commission, said Adam Victor, president and CEO of TransGas Development Systems.
She also tried to establish a relationship between South Korea and the University of South Florida’s medical school.
It had previously emerged that Jill Kelley was awarded a medal for “Outstanding Public Service” – the second highest honor available to a civilian – from the Joint Chiefs of Staff after she was recommended by David Petraeus himself.
After problems with the application, it was resubmitted in October 2010 by Marine General James Mattis, who had replaced David Petraeus as the head of U.S. Central Command.
David Petraeus then presented the award to Jill Kelley, whom he met through her work and lavish party planning for MacDill, at a ceremony in Washington on March 18, 2011.
The award citation noted the honor was for her public service to the U.S. Central Command, MacDill and the Department of Defense from October 31, 2008 to May 31, 2010. She received a silver medal, lapel pin, citation and certificate.
“Mrs. Kelley distinguished herself by exceptional service while supporting the mission of the United Central Command, building positive relationships between the military and the Tampa community, supporting community outreach, and advancing various military endeavors,” according to the award citation, seen by the Tampa Tribune.
It adds that her “willingness to host engagements with Senior National Representatives from more than 60 countries was indicative of her support for both the Coalition’s effort and the mission of United States Central Command”.
And her willingness to rub shoulders with the military’s top brass has become increasingly apparent since her part in the Petraeus scandal emerged over the past two weeks.
Jill Kelley, the Florida socialite who exposed the affair which brought down CIA Director David Petraeus, has been sacked as an honorary consul for South Korea
Jill Kelley has thrown expensive parties at her home for generals and local politicians, reportedly schmoozed with Barack Obama aides who then invited her to dinners at the White House and enjoyed taxpayer-funded flights on military aircraft.
“On multiple occasions, Mrs. Kelley invited Senior National Representatives, their spouses, and senior leaders to her home to demonstrate their gratitude and support,” the citation noted.
“These events promoted camaraderie, understanding and a better appreciation for Coalition and military customs, concerns and abilities.
“Her personal leadership and selfless contributions to our community generated a strong bond between our Coalition members and Tampa residents, which inspired acts of generosity and patriotism in others.”
Jill Kelley was also commended for helping David Petraeus when he first took over CentCom.
“She [was] instrumental in introducing the commander, early in his tenure, to local and state officials, particularly the mayor of Tampa and the governor of Florida,” according to the citation.
But her friendliness with military officials has also led to her undoing, after she was found to have exchanged “flirtatious” emails with General John Allen during the FBI probe into David Petraeus.
During the investigation, the FBI found 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails between Jill Kelley and the general, who is head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
It also emerged this week that she travelled on a military plane with General John Allen on at least one occasion. In other instances, she reportedly flew to Washington DC.
The investigation by 10 News Tampa found she enjoyed “numerous” flights, including on a KC-135 jet in May 2010.
“It’s an educational opportunity for people to just see what hard working military members are doing each day,” Lt. Col. Jack Miller said of the plane.
“It’s generally folks throughout the community that just have an interest in the instillation. Sometimes it’s just a matter of requesting to do it.”
The revelation came after Jill Kelley and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, were invited to two “courtesy” meals in the Executive Mansion mess hall as a guest of a White House aide.
She met the mid-level aide through her work with MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, where she also rubbed shoulders with the military bosses including General David Petraeus.
On one further occasion, she received a White House tour with her family, the official added.
In further examples of her attempts to use her contacts to her advantage, Jill Kelley sent a string of pleading emails to the Tampa Mayor after the scandal broke, complaining she has been receiving threats and claiming: “The truth will one day prevail.”
The anguished messages, seen by the Tampa Bay Times, were sent to Bob Buckhorn, whom she knows socially, and claimed her children were scared and her husband had been forced to sleep at work.
The emails are the second instance of her trying to exploit her “position” – after she called the police asking for “diplomatic protection” from the media due to her role as honorary consul to South Korea.
“I’m an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability, so they should not be able to cross my property,” Jill Kelley told the 911 operator.
“I don’t know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well, because that’s against the law to cross my property because, you know, it’s inviolable.”
David Petraeus has consigned himself to a year in the doghouse with his wife Holly Petraeus even though he is getting “cabin fever” stuck at home while he waits for the attention around his sex scandal to die down.
Friends have revealed that David Petraeus has given up his relentless schedule of high level meetings for “self-imposed exile” and groveling to his family.
Gone are his five-mile runs in the open air every morning in Washington D.C. – instead he has confined himself indoors and is working out on a treadmill.
David Petraeus has also traded CIA briefings for emailing friends to chat and catching up on his reading.
Meanwhile his wife of 38 years, Holly Petraeus, has made a point of going to work every day and leaving him home alone.
Among the blog posts she has written in her role as a spokeswoman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the line: “You know the old saying: <<If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is>>.”
According to the New York Times, friends of David Petraeus are “concerned” that a man so used to constantly working has nothing to do for the first time in his life.
His main focus is lying low and salvaging his marriage given that Holly Petraeus is said to be “furious” over his conduct and has threatened to divorce him.
David Petraeus’s close friend Jack Keane, the former vice chief of staff of the Army, said: “Basically he’s the same guy but considerably more subdued, in terms of his spirit.
“And that’s understandable. His voice doesn’t have the same peppiness in it.”
Friends have revealed that David Petraeus has given up his relentless schedule of high level meetings for self-imposed exile and groveling to his family
David Petraeus is said to be weighing up his options about what to do the in the future including offers for a book deal, speaking engagements and interest from various corporations to serve on their boards.
Having hired media super-lawyer Robert Barnett he could also become a talking head on TV.
For now, however, he hardly leaves the house and is having to prove to Holly Petraeus that he deserves her trust again. The New York Times said he plans to put his life on hold for the next 12 months to sort out the mess.
A friend said: “Several of us are concerned. He’s a very active individual. He needs to stay active.”
Another friend said: “I asked him whether he’d seen a certain article, and he said: <<No, send it my way. I’m looking for something to read right now>>.
“He kept such a grueling schedule. This is unchartered territory for him right now.”
Meanwhile Holly Petraeus has been in the office every day at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in her role running the Office of Service Member Affairs.
She has written two blog posts in the last week including one about the dangers of buying a flood damaged car which includes the line: “Once you’ve signed the contract you’re committed, so Know Before You Owe!”
Until the scandal became public, the Petraeuses seemed to have a rock solid marriage.
They met on a blind date when David Petraeus was a student at the military academy at West Point, where Holly’s father was the superintendent.
He graduated in June 1947 and the couple married the following month, before going on to have two children, Ann and Stephen, and traveling the world with his work.
Despite moving 24 times in 38 years, Holly Petraeus has also built her own career.
She became a volunteer, performing military and family support roles on bases, before assuming her current title.
A source has told the National Enquirer that David Petraeus has been “falling all over himself” apologizing but she “isn’t listening”.
The source said: “After all his lies, she doesn’t believe anything he says anymore, and she’s thinking about consulting a divorce attorney.”
Friends have also given fresh insight into how David Petraeus became involved with Army reservist Paula Broadwell whilst she was writing his biography.
A friend said that the general initially thought it was a book on Afghanistan and that he “belatedly” realized it was about him.
When Paula Broadwell told him about the six-figure advance he thought: “Well, I better help her to get it halfway right rather than pushing her away to have something come out that was half-baked.”
He also admitted that after breaking off the relationship he continued to help Paula Broadwell with the project to try and put things back on a more “professional plane”.
Florida socialite Jill Kelley, whose tip to the FBI uncovered David Petraeus’ affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, was awarded a prestigious military medal for her “selfless contributions” to the forces, it has emerged.
Jill Kelley received the award for “Outstanding Public Service” from the Joint Chiefs of Staff – the second highest honor to a civilian – after she was recommended by David Petraeus himself.
After problems with the application, it was resubmitted in October 2010 by Marine General James Mattis, who had replaced David Petraeus as the head of U.S. Central Command.
David Petraeus then presented the award to Jill Kelley, whom he met through her work and lavish party planning for MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, at a ceremony in Washington on March 18, 2011.
The award citation noted the honor was for her public service to the U.S. Central Command, MacDill and the Department of Defense from October 31, 2008 to May 31, 2010. She received a silver medal, lapel pin, citation and certificate.
Jill Kelley received the award for Outstanding Public Service from the Joint Chiefs of Staff after she was recommended by David Petraeus himself
“Mrs. Kelley distinguished herself by exceptional service while supporting the mission of the United Central Command, building positive relationships between the military and the Tampa community, supporting community outreach, and advancing various military endeavors,” according to the award citation, seen by the Tampa Tribune.
It adds that her “willingness to host engagements with Senior National Representatives from more than 60 countries was indicative of her support for both the Coalition’s effort and the mission of United States Central Command”.
Jill Kelley’s willingness to rub shoulders with the military’s top brass has become increasingly apparent since her part in the Petraeus scandal emerged over the past two weeks.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has spoken out for the first time about the allegations against General John R. Allen, that he had “inappropriate communications” with Florida socialite and military social liaison Jill Kelley.
General John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is under investigation for his correspondence with Kelley, who is also embroiled in the David Petraeus sex scandal.
Investigators are looking at 20,000-plus pages of documents and emails between Jill Kelley and John Allen, some of which have been described by Pentagon officials as “flirtatious”. General John Allen has denied any wrongdoing.
Leon Panetta, speaking at a news conference in Perth on Wednesday, cautioned against reaching early conclusions about the veracity of allegations against General John Allen, which have added a new dimension to the Petraeus matter.
“No one should leap to any conclusions here,” Leon Panetta said in his first public comments on the matter when a reporter asked what John Allen might have done wrong.
Leon Panetta said he supports John Allen, who has been in command in Kabul since July 2011. He took over that summer for David Petraeus, who retired from the Army to head the CIA.
“He certainly has my continued confidence to lead our forces and to continue the fight,” Leon Panetta said.
Leon Panetta has spoken out for the first time about the allegations against General John Allen, that he had inappropriate communications with Jill Kelley
The Pentagon chief declined to explain the nature of John Allen’s correspondence with Jill Kelley, the Florida socialite connected to the scandal that led to David Petraeus’ resignation last week as director of the CIA.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who appeared with Leon Panetta and their Australian counterparts at Wednesday’s news conference, declined to comment on the Allen case except to suggest it has not harmed the war effort.
An oversized painted portrait of Florida socialite Jill Kelley and her surgeon husband Scott is hanging on the wall of their $1.3 million Bayshore Boulevard mansion.
The ostentatious gold-framed commission no doubt adorned the wall during one of Jill Kelley’s parties she famously hosted as an unpaid, unofficial social liaison for U.S. Central Command.
But appearances can be deceptive and the couple portrayed smiling widely have been sued for $4.1 million of debts and are, as we found out this month, at the centre of the biggest sex scandal to rock the U.S. in living memory.
Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old Florida housewife, unveiled the David Petraeus sex scandal when she contacted the FBI about harassing emails from his mistress Paula Broadwell.
After Jill Kelley contacted the FBI, agents launched a massive in-depth investigation into who was sending the emails because they shared this detailed information that was not publicly available.
The catty emails, which told Jill Kelley to “back off” from David Petraeus, were sent to Kelley from several fake email addresses.
In order to find who had confidential information about David Petraeus’ whereabouts, the FBI obtained an administrative subpoena, and traced them back to Paula Broadwell.
In the course of the investigation, they also unearthed emails indicating the affair between Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus, leading to his resignation earlier his month.
At her glamorous home the lawns are perfectly manicured – the residence has six bedrooms and four bathrooms for the hundreds of military guests who used to attend parties there.
A closer look, however, and you notice that the paint is peeling on the outside and wooden chairs at all rather too well worn.
An oversized painted portrait of Florida socialite Jill Kelley and her surgeon husband Scott is hanging on the wall of their $1.3 million Bayshore Boulevard mansion
Jill Kelley boasted about serving dinner to David Petraeus and his wife Holly in 2007.
Holly Petraeus and her husband were pictured next to the Kelleys and Jill Kelley’s twin sister, Natalie Khawam.
Each year Jill Kelley and her husband, Dr. Scott Kelley, host a party on their extensive manicured front lawn to celebrate the Gasparilla Festival in Tampa.
In 2010 General David Petraeus and his wife Holly attended the pirate themed festival staged at the Kelley’s home.
David Petraeus arrived with a 28 motorcycle escort and mingled with more than 200 guests who dined on crab cakes and lamb chops.
At this year’s Gasparilla festival, where pirate themed floats are driven through Tampa, the Kelley’s hosted military officers from 60 nations to a coalition appreciation party.
Tight security surrounded the Kelley’s home during the event.
One neighbor complained that it resulted in the street running alongside the Kelley’s red and white painted mansion being closed off to traffic for the day.
“You soon know when Jill is having a party It’s like having the president come to town as everything shuts down. There is security everywhere and you cannot move,” said one neighbor.
Jill Kelley, who said she has known General David Petraeus and his wife Holly for five years, has visited them in Washington DC. She is also reported to have been invited to a breakfast at the White House.
In recognition of her work with officials at CENTCOM, Jill Kelley was recently named as honorary consulate general to South Korea.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
