Home Tags Posts tagged with "david petraeus"
david petraeus
Staring at Jill Kelley’s $1.3 million mansion from the street, it would be hard not to think that this was a person who had made it in life.
The vast 1923 brick house is in one of the most fashionable districts of Tampa, Florida, and is over the bay from one of New York Yankee Derek Jeter’s homes.
The lawns are perfectly manicured, it 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.
The owners have been sued for $4.1 million of debts and are, as we found out this week, at the centre of the biggest scandal to rock the military in living memory.
If ever there was a perfect metaphor for the life that Jill Kelley has been living, then her house would be it. A lot of front, in other words, and a hollow, brazen ambition on the inside.
Until this week the only view we had to Jill Kelley’s life was that of the outsider, but now we all know what was going on behind closed doors it raise more questions than it answers.
General John Allen, the commander of US troops in Afghanistan, sent her up to 30,000 emails including some which were reportedly of an inappropriate nature.
Through her connections, Jill Kelley grew so close to General David Petraeus that she was invited to his daughter Anne’s wedding.
Even the FBI agent who investigated her claims that David Petraeus’ mistress Paula Broadwell had sent her threatening emails was so enraptured that he sent her a picture of himself with no shirt on.
So beloved was the “social liason” to the military that all Jill Kelley had to do was give the guard at MacDill Air Force Base a wave of her perfectly manicured hand and she would be let in to fraternize as she pleased.
But no longer – with her access revoked and the scandal in full public view, many are asking the questions they should have asked from the beginning.
What exactly it is about this former mathlete that powerful men cannot resist?
And what is it about her that takes great pleasure in seeing a man in uniform go weak at the knees when she walks into the room?
A look into Jill Kelley’s background reveals that she could not have been more different than how she has ended up.
Jill Kelley and twin sister Natalie Khawam waited until their teens at the earliest before embarking on their transition to a more shameless version of the Kardashians. (Which takes some doing, considering that Kim Kardashian became famous for starring in her very own sex tape.)
Jill Kelley’s parents Marcelle and John Khawam moved to Philadelphia from Lebanon in the 1970s, presumably to give a better life to their children, whom they raised as Catholic.
They opened a Middle Eastern restaurant in Voorhees, New Jersey before moving to Pennsylvania where both girls attended Lower Moreland High School in Huntingdon Valley.
Classmates remembered the girls as “The Twins” because they spent so much time together, never went to any parties and did not appear to have even gone to the prom.
But in a sign of things to come, at 18, Jill Kelley, then Jill Khawam, responded to taunts about her big nose: “You’ll be in awe of me after I have a nosejob.” Jill Kelley, now a mother of three, appears to have met her future husband Scott, a cancer surgeon, in Pennsylvania and a decade ago they moved to Tampa, taking in Natalie Khawam as a permanent guest in their new home, which they bought in 2004.
Jill Kelley and her twin sister Natalie Khawam pictured with David Petraeus and his wife
It was there that Jill Kelley set about turning herself into the to go-to girl for any party that the military put on.
First she had to look the part – out went the t-shirts, jeans and cheap pearls of her high school days.
In came designer dresses, high heels, expensive handbags and a new sleek hairstyle instead of her voluminous youthful look.
In also came the guests at her regular parties – David Petraeus, General John Allen, and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is a close ally of Mitt Romney.
There are even claims her sister, Natalie Khawam, dated the former Florida governor, Charlie Crist.
It is likely senior FBI officials were also invited to sup cocktails on the lawn and meet the mayor and other local dignitaries.
A band would sometimes play amid a Cosmopolitan atmosphere that included high ranking French and Italian military officers.
So good a host was Jill Kelley that she became “honorary consul” to South Korea, a title with no responsibilities but official enough for her to put on her number plate.
Such delusions of grandeur were apparent when she phoned police in recent days asking for “diplomatic protection” because she was annoyed at journalists knocking on her door.
Meanwhile we now know that Jill Kelley’s world was falling apart.
She has been sued by Central Bank for $1.9 million for failing to keep up with mortgage payments on a home she bought after starting a property company.
Regions Bank sued her and her husband, Scott Kelley, for $1.8 million over the mortgage on another home and filed another claim for $453,000.
Bank of America followed suit for $25,000 of unpaid credit card charges.
Then came the Petraeus sex scandal, which makes her financial problems look like a drop in the ocean.
And Natalie Khawam has had it no easier, even appealing to David Petraeus and General John Allen to write letters to a judge on her behalf as she fought a doomed battled to win back custody of her four-year-old son.
A year ago, the judge had resoundingly denied custody to Natalie Khawam, saying he had serious concerns and reservations over her mental stability and her grasp on reality.
He also cited Natalie Khawam with “outrageous conduct”, “bad faith litigation tactics”, and “illogical thinking” before awarding full custody to the father, Grayson Wolfe, who had been unable to see his child for more than a year.
The New York Post claimed Grayson Wolfe won sole custody of the boy after the judge found out Natalie Khawam, a lawyer, repeatedly lied under oath and filed false domestic-violence and child-abuse claims against her husband.
Special Agent Fred Humphries has been revealed as the face, and torso, of the “Shirtless FBI Agent” whose images were found in socialite Jill Kelley’s email account.
It was Frederick Humphries who initiated the investigation into harassing emails sent to Jill Kelley that ultimately led to the resignation of General David Petraeus.
Amid the heat of that exposure the news of his own apparent indiscretion was treated as another layer of sexual intrigue in this tangled tale.
In fact, Fred Humphries insists, it is nothing of the sort. The email was a joke that backfired more spectacularly than he could possibly have imagined and, perhaps, was allowed to.
The image in question was not some leering pose, directed at the object of his desire, but a round-robin joke – the sort of which the 47-year-old Special Agent was in the habit of sending – that ended with a picture punchline.
In stark contrast to the covert “dead drop” technique of Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus’s email correspondence, Fred Humphries’s message was sent from an account he shared with his wife, teacher Sara.
The snapshot showing Frederick Humphries – bald, muscular and shirtless – posed between two buff, bullet-ridden target dummies and carrying the punchline “Which one is Fred?” was framed and displayed on his wife’s desk at work. His supervisor even pinned it on the notice board in the Bureau.
In fact as the Seattle Times reports, one of the newspaper’s staff was among those to receive the email, sent in 2010 shortly after the Special Agent had been transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the Bureau’s Tampa office.
Fred Humphries sent topless picture to Jill Kelley from email account he shared with his wife
The email was sent on September 9, 2010. All of which points to the motivation of the sources that first leaked word of its existence being mischievous at best.
Because if not quite an Icarus figure fallen to earth, Fred Humphries reputation has certainly been allowed to wilt in the heat of the media glare.
According to the New York Times, Fred Humphries has a reputation as a “hard-charging” field agent. It is a turn of phrase that implies an approach more likely to earn results than friends.
Fred Humphries reportedly received a dressing down from his superiors when he impatiently tried to push forward the investigation into the emails received by Jill Kelley.
General David Petraeus has spoken out for the first time since his affair with Paula Broadwell became public, forcing him to resign – and revealed he is determined to make his marriage work.
Breaking his silence almost a week after he dramatically stepped down, David Petraeus also revealed he has not spoken to his mistress, Paula Broadwell, since the scandal emerged and denied he had ever given her classified military documents.
He maintained that his shock resignation on Friday had nothing to do with hearings about the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which he was due to testify at this week.
Instead, David Petraeus, speaking with HLN reporter Kyra Phillips, said he stepped down as he was deeply remorseful about the affair and the only honorable thing left to do was to admit his failings.
And, relaying her conversations with David Petraeus to HLN on Thursday, Kyra Phillips said he was now focusing on repairing the damage inflicted on his family, including his two adult children, Anne and Stephen.
He admitted to her that he had “screwed up terribly” and that he “felt fortunate to have a wife who is far better than he deserves”, Kyra Phillips said.
“He knows he made a big mistake,” she said.
“He does want to move forward making things work with his family. He doesn’t want to throw 37 years out the window with his wife.”
“This woman is strong,” she added of Holly Petraeus.
“She knows what she wants. She’s obviously, according to people that know her well, not happy about this – very, very upset about this.
“I do not know if she’s committed to working this out with Petraeus… But I do know that Dave Petraeus does not want to throw 37 years away and would really like to make this work and make things right with his family.”
Speaking with HLN reporter Kyra Phillips, David Petraeus said he stepped down as he was deeply remorseful about the affair with Paula Broadwell and the only honorable thing left to do was to admit his failings
David Petraeus, 60, revealed very little about his ten-month affair with Paula Broadwell, which ended in July, but said they had not spoken since Friday.
“They have not talked since this story broke,” Kyra Phillips said.
“They talked a couple of times when he ended this relationship which was a couple [of] months ago. But they have not talked since the story broke.”
These previous conversations have been confirmed by sources who saw David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell chatting at an intelligence event in Washington on October 27, weeks after the start of the FBI probe.
[youtube YpeeBz7Y9IE]
Florida socialite Jill Kelley’s husband, Dr. Scott Kelley, was pictured for the first time today since being dragged into the media spotlight.
Dr. Scott Kelley, a renowned cancer surgeon with his own charitable foundation, was seen leaving his mansion which overlooks the bay this morning.
The surgeon looked weary as he left home wearing a shirt and tie. As he made his way to his car, Dr. Scott Kelley glared at the photographers who have been camped outside his property for several days.
It is the first time he has been seen since his wife was revealed as the lynchpin of an FBI investigation that led to CIA director David Petraeus’ resignation after an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
As Dr. Scott Kelley braved the media glare on Thursday, there was still no sign of the other doctor dragged into the increasingly tangled web of betrayal – Dr. Scott Broadwell, husband of David Petraeus’ mistress Paula.
Florida socialite Jill Kelley’s husband, Dr. Scott Kelley, was pictured for the first time today since being dragged into the media spotlight
The radiologist, who has two sons with his wife, has not been seen since the scandal broke last Friday.
Dr. Scott Broadwell and his wife had been enjoying a romantic weekend for her 40th birthday at a B&B in West Virginia when news of her long-term affair with CIA director David Petraeus broke on November 9.
The Broadwells then headed for Washington D.C, where Paula Broadwell has been pictured hiding out at her brother’s house. Her husband has remained out of view.
Both Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley have refused to speak publicly about the scandal.
Jill Kelley has remained at her colonial style mansion during the scandal, appearing briefly in bold designer dresses for the media who have gathered outside her home.
She has been bombarded with offers from TV networks to conduct a sit down chat about her relationship. Friends believe Jill Kelley will agree to talk – because she desperately needs the money.
David Petraeus and his mistress Paula Broadwell were seen chatting together at a high-profile intelligence event weeks after they learned the FBI had launched an investigation into their affair, it has been claimed.
Their brazen appearances at the annual Office of Strategic Services Dinner in Washington D.C. on October 27 came just two weeks before David Petraeus’ dramatic resignation last Friday.
A photograph shows Paula Broadwell at the event, according to NBC sources, and guests noted she was confident – rather than a woman under investigation for potential national security breaches.
“It’s mind-boggling that she could be so reckless as to show up at high-profile events like this, shortly after learning the FBI was investigating their affair,” one former U.S. intelligence official told NBC.
The probe was launched in May after Paula Broadwell sent anonymous threatening emails to Florida military socialite and perceived love rival Jill Kelley, telling her to “back off” from David Petraeus.
The catty emails were traced back to Paula Broadwell and, in the process of the investigation, agents also uncovered messages revealing the affair between the biographer and David Petraeus.
A friend claims the affair ended in July and agents interviewed Paula Broadwell during the week of October 14 and David Petraeus the week of October 21, CNN reported – just days before the Washington event.
Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus did not sit together, but were seen speaking, sources told NBC.
Some attendees claimed they attended the event together, conservative weekly Human Events reported, but others disputed this.
It is the last known meeting of the pair who seemed very much at ease with each other, despite claiming their affair had ended months prior.
David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell were seen chatting together at a high-profile intelligence event after they learned the FBI had launched an investigation into their affair
Paula Broadwell, a married mother of two who first met David Petraeus as he spoke at Harvard University in 2006, appeared confident while speaking with guests, Fox News reported.
“She was elated, beaming that night,” the source said.
“She was having her picture taken with guests. She would disappear for a few minutes and then return, very much enjoying the attention.”
They added that Paula Broadwell spoke openly about David Petraeus and had personal insights and opinions about him.
“She said he was unsure of himself sometimes,” they said.
David Petraeus, who is also married with two children, was described as being in a “great mood” and gave a speech honoring a CIA director predecessor and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
After the event, one of the most high-profile events within the intelligence community, the FBI interviewed Paula Broadwell for a second time.
On November 6 – Election Day – the FBI told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about the probe during a phone call. He then spoke with David Petraeus and advised him to resign.
On November 8, President Barack Obama was told about the 10-month affair and Petraeus visited him at the White House to hand in his resignation.
Barack Obama accepted David Petraeus’ resignation and he stepped down as the head of the CIA on November 9.
The scandal later dragged in another general, the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, after the FBI investigated Jill Kelley’s emails from Paula Broadwell.
During the probe, they reportedly uncovered 20,000 to 30,000 pages of email correspondence between General John Allen and Jill Kelley, an unpaid social liaison who throws parties for military in Tampa, Florida.
Despite the ongoing FBI investigation into the extra-marital affair that led to his resignation as Director of the CIA, David Petraeus has agreed to testify this Friday before a House Committee on the Benghazi consulate attack.
The hearing, which will be held before the Senate Intelligence Committee, is closed to the public and the media and the retired four-star general will answer questions on the CIA’s knowledge and handling of the September 11th assault that left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American dead.
Last night it was confirmed by the Committee that David Petraeus would appear before them at 7.30 a.m. putting an end to the speculation the former CIA chief would decline to testify following his resignation over the Paula Broadwell affair.
David Petraeus hopes that by offering to give testimony he will clear up some of the wilder rumors that are circulating.
“He did not like the conspiracies going around that somehow he had something to hide on Benghazi,” said retired Colonel Peter Mansoor who served as David Petraeus’ executive officer in Iraq.
“I think his offer to testify crossed with the Congress’ request to him to testify. But anyway, he looks forward to that.”
David Petraeus has agreed to testify this Friday before a House Committee on the Benghazi consulate attack
This comes as the former CIA director told his close friend Peter Mansoor that he was ignoring the media firestorm that has erupted in the wake of his resignation.
“He wants to maintain a distance and focus on his family at this time,” said retired Peter Mansoor to CNN.
“He realizes it was a severe and morally reprehensible action, but he violated no laws.”
Asked how David Petraeus, 60, was dealing with the scandal, Peter Mansoor said: “He describes it as putting one foot in front of the other, and then repeating the process. So it’s going to be a long, long road of healing for them. He understands that and he’s focusing on it.”
Sources have told CBS’ Margaret Brennan that intelligence officials will show footage from unmanned drones that were overhead during the assault.
“General Petraeus is willing to come before the committee and the details are being worked out,” Senator Diane Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said today. No date for his testimony has been set.
Dianne Feinstein has been among those in Congress who have complained that lawmakers should have been notified about an FBI investigation that led to the disclosure of David Petraeus’ affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
But she said that David Petraeus’ testimony to her committee will be limited to the Benghazi attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others. David Petraeus was CIA director at the time of the attacks and visited Libya afterward.
David Petraeus was originally supposed to give evidence to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday before his resignation and subsequent investigation that has expanded to include General John Allen, the chief of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
When asked if there had been a national security breach with the Petraeus affair, Feinstein replied: “I have no evidence that there was at this time.”
The new details of what uncovered David Petraeus’ months-long relationship with his biographer Paula Broadwell come as the FBI continue to search military documents Broadwell admitted to stashing in her home.
Security officials have revealed Paula Broadwell had “substantial” classified information on her computer which should have been stored more securely.
The computer was taken from Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte, North Carolina home on Monday night after she admitted to FBI investigators that she had taken classified military documents, a source told ABC.
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was no indication so far that any classified documents had been found but said he will not prejudge the investigation results.
Security officials have revealed Paula Broadwell had substantial classified information on her computer which should have been stored more securely
Officials continue to investigate exactly how Paula Broadwell acquired the files, but as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Military Reserve, she had security clearance to review the documents.
The government had demanded she return the documents and organized the visit to her home. Prosecutors are now deciding whether to charge her with a crime.
Paula Broadwell, who has kept a low profile since the scandal broke, was seen taking refuge at her brother’s home in the Petworth suburb of Washington D.C. on Tuesday night.
Frederick W. Humphries, the mysterious “Shirtless FBI Agent” who began the investigation that led to the resignation of David Petraeus, has broken his silence to say he did not send Tampa socialite Jill Kelley any pictures of a sexual nature.
While not denying the now notorious, but unseen “shirtless” picture exists, Frederick W. Humphries, 47, said the photograph was sent as a “joke” and described it as him “posing with a couple of dummies”.
Refuting media suggestions that the picture was sent because he had become enamored with Jill Kelley, the decorated FBI agent said that the photo was sent years before she contacted him about threatening emails she received from David Petraeus’ biographer-turned-mistress Paula Broadwell.
According to the general counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association who have spoken to Frederick Humphries, the FBI counter terrorism agent only passed on the information Jill Kelley provided him with and played no part in the subsequent investigation.
Lawrence Berger told the New York Times that Frederick Humphries, who played a key role in stopping a terrorist attack aimed at blowing up Los Angeles International Airport in 1999 and his wife had been “social friends with Ms. Kelley and her husband prior to the day she referred the matter to him”.
“They always socialized and corresponded.”
Lawrence Berger denied any suggestion that Frederick Humphries sent inappropriate shirtless pictures to Jill Kelley during the course of the investigation which has now engulfed the intelligence community in Washington.
“That picture was sent years before Kelley contacted him about this, and it was sent as part of a larger context of what I would call social relations in which the families would exchange numerous photos of each other,” said Lawrence Berger.
Claiming that the picture was sent as a “joke”, Lawrence Berger said that Frederick Humphries was “posing with a couple of dummies” at the time of the photograph and that it was not sexual in nature.
However, those with knowledge of the investigation that Frederick Humphries sparked said that he was given a dressing down by his superiors for trying to push the complaint forward.
In fact, according to the New York Times, Frederick Humphries believed that the case was purposefully being stalled for political reasons.
So much so, that in October, Frederick Humphries contacted Representative Dave Recihert, a Republican from Washington State, where Humphries had worked before to ask for his help – purposefully going over his bosses heads.
Dave Reichert directed him to House majority leader, Eric Cantor who eventually passed the message onto the FBI director, Robert S. Mueller.
Frederick W. Humphries is the mysterious Shirtless FBI Agent who began the investigation that led to the resignation of David Petraeus
According to Wired Magazine, Eric Cantor and his staff personally met with Frederick Humphries in October but were unable to act on the information he was giving them because they doubted his credibility.
They also had no idea that FBI were investigating David Petraeus in the first place and after conferring they decided to contact FBI Director Robert Mueller on October 31st.
One week later, on November 6th, Election Day, Robert Mueller went to James Clapper the director of national intelligence and David Petraeus’ immediate superior – who urged him to resign his position as head of the CIA.
In fact, the House Judiciary Committee has written to Robert Mueller to ask why it took him a week to come forward with the information that Frederick Humphries had given him.
This information puts severe doubt over Frederick Humphries assertion that he took no active interest in the case that has caused the resignation of the CIA chief David Petraeus and could cause the downfall of General John Allen, who commands U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
“Fred is a passionate kind of guy,” said one former colleague.
“He’s kind of an obsessive type. If he locked his teeth onto something, he’d be a bulldog.”
Frederick Humphries has since been reassigned and his status is being reviewed by the FBI.
Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, defended Frederick Humphries as an experienced professional.
“From my view issues of national security have unfortunately been reduced to a bad episode of <<Real Housewives>>,” he said to the Wall Street Journal.
“The photos should not undermine the fact that the agent responded in a timely way and appropriately, nor do they reflect any amorous relationship,” he said.
It was Frederick Humphries who passed on Jill Kelley’s complaint about disturbing emails she had received to his superiors in the FBI Tampa field office.
The investigation tracked down the emails to Paula Broadwell and subsequently discovered the extramarital affair between 60-year-old David Petraeus and the married mother-of-two.
Frederick Humphries grew up in Steilacoom, Washington, attended high school in Canada and rose to become a captain in military intelligence in the U.S. Army.
Studying criminology at the University of Tampa, Frederick Humphries joined the FBI and in 1999 he was involved in the investigation which foiled Ahmed Rassam the “Millennium Bomber” who planned to attack Los Angeles International Airport.
Two years ago the passionate officer was attacked outside of MAcDill Air Force Base in Tampa by a knife wielding man, who Frederick Humphries fatally shot.
Even before Paula Broadwell’s affair with David Petraeus emerged this was a point which bothered talk-show hosts, perplexed interviewers and left onlookers faintly bewildered at the string of appearances which constituted Broadwell’s publicity tour for that book, All In.
Her own explanation, such as it was, is glib at best. They met, Paula Broadwell repeatedly trotted out, at a dinner for West Point alumni back in 2006.
After dinner there were drinks and at drinks David Petraeus gave her his business card and they just kept in touch.
Two years later, in 2008, Paula Braodwell was working on a dissertation on theories of leadership and so, she told Jon Stewart: “I shot him an email, and said, <<I’m gonna to go for it>>.”
David Petraeus’ reaction was to invite Paula Braodwell well and truly into his camp. For a man of such experience the extent to which he let his guard down is breathtaking.
But then Paula Broadwell is nothing if not convincing when it comes to outlining her own credentials and, given the glowing portrait of “strategic leadership” she penned as David Petraeus’s biography, nothing if not flattering.
In one television interview Paula Broadwell recalled approaching General David Petraeus and asking him to be a case-study for her dissertation. She wanted to show: “What Petraeus’s role was in forcing the military to adapt to win the wars we were in”.
“There was no room for a conversation of shortcomings of the Petraeus theology. She wasn’t a reporter. She struck me as an acolyte,” one advisor to David Petraeus is quoted as telling the New York Post.
And while Paula Broadwell stroked her subject’s ego with one hand she shored up her own credibility with the other; part Mata Hari, part blue-stocking.
Another in the Petraeus camp noted, on meeting her: “I was underwhelmed. It was surprising to me that she was his official biographer.”
But, when it came to promoting her book, for Paula Broadwell establishing her own academic, military and security credentials came second only to establishing whether General David Petraeus was, as Jon Stewart put it, “awesome or incredibly awesome”.
She dropped academic qualifications and security clearance the way a socialite might pepper her conversation with boasts of parties attended and ‘BFFs made.
According to Paula Broadwell, being embedded in Afghanistan with David Petraeus was not the huge leap many imagined because, she explained: “We had previously met through academia.”
Paula Broadwell herself was a graduate of West Point and a specialist in counter-terrorism with black ops experience, high security clearance, “and then some”.
She was High School Valedictorian, All State Basketball player, top of her class at West Point, holder of a masters from Harvard…and how do we know all of this? Because Paula Broadwell has taken great pains to tell us.
Paula Broadwell was an acolyte, never a reporter and an unquestioning devotee of David Petraeus
We know that her husband Scott Broadwell is not “just” a radiologist but an “interventional radiologist”.
Writing in The New Republic, Noam Scheiber states: “When my friend met her, she was fond of pointing out that her husband was no mere radiologist but a special breed known as <<interventional radiologist>>. She would draw out the word <<interventional>> for emphasis.”
We know that she can run 6-minute miles and do hundreds of press-ups, that she has 13% body fat and is an ironman triathlete and marathon runner.
We know all this because Paula Broadwell has told us. We know that she hosted a charity BBQ for wounded veterans because she invited Jon Stewart and the assembled press.
Meanwhile, until Paula Broadwell stopped posting, her Twitter feed was a dizzying mixture of her following both world-causes and the world-famous.
According to the Times, Paula Broadwell recently tweeted: “Heading 2 @AspenInstitue 4 the Seucirty Forum tomorrow! Panel (media & terrorism) followed by a 1v1 run with Lance Armstrong.”
The political, professional and academic platform on which Paula Broadwell now teeters is one entirely of her own, formidable, construction: itself an exercise in strategy to rival David Petraeus’s own.
Paula Broadwell has set out her credentials relentlessly with faux humility, referring to herself as a mere “mentee” of David Petraeus on one hand then telling the Charlotte Observer in her hometown in North Carolina: “Petraeus once joked I was his Avvatar” a breathtakingly arrogant aside.
Margaret Thatcher once noted that if you had to tell people you were a lady, you probably weren’t. But self-effacement seems the only class that Paula Broadwell ever sat out.
And the more impressive Paula Broadwell made herself the more flattering her interest in David Petraeus must surely have been. What better way to appeal to a man in power than to appeal to his vanity?
Noam Scheiber, describes David Petraeus as a man of “overachieving impulses and intellectual pretensions”.
Recognizing that, Paula Broadwell seems to have taken those dubious attributes as her own template for what she described in several publicity interviews as her “new path of the soldier-scholar”.
As such Paula Broadwell has been a keen writer of opinion pieces and regular poster on the West Point Alumni Notes page.
Writing in the Boston Globe in 2009, Paula Broadwell tackled the issue of fraternization between the sexes on the front line: “Human sexuality will always present a challenge to organizational discipline. In isolated outposts [it] could create a situation where issues of sex impede an organization’s survival skills.”
Rather presciently she concluded: “Banning sex is futile and impossible; the best approach is to set rules regarding fraternization, maintain awareness of relationships within the command, and strictly and fairly discipline transgressors.”
On many occasions Paula Broadwell has noted of David Petraeus that he “spoke truth to power”.
But if the events of the past week have shown anything it is that the court of the man known as “King David”, lacked anyone willing or able to do the same to him.
Because where David Petraeus “spoke truth to power” Paula Broadwell wanted to dissect that power and to get close to it.
Revealingly, in a recent address to the University of Denver Paula Broadwell claimed to have been drawn to the military as an “instrument of power” and that she wanted to understand how that instrument worked – presumably so she could play it.
Harassing emails sent by Paula Broadwell to her love rival, Jill Kelley, contained confidential information about David Petraeus’ movements, a law enforcement source has revealed.
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 on Friday.
The new details of what uncovered David Petraeus’ months-long relationship with his biographer come as the FBI continue to search military documents Paula Broadwell admitted to stashing in her home.
Security officials have revealed she had “substantial” classified information on her computer which should have been stored more securely.
The computer was taken from Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte, North Carolina home on Monday night after she admitted to FBI investigators that she had taken classified military documents, a source told ABC.
FBI agents left Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte home on Monday evening with documents and computers
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was no indication so far that any classified documents had been found but said he will not prejudge the investigation results.
Officials continue to investigate exactly how Paula Broadwell acquired the files, but as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Military Reserve, she had security clearance to review the documents.
The government had demanded she return the documents and organized the visit to her home. Prosecutors are now deciding whether to charge her with a crime.
Paula Broadwell, who has kept a low profile since the scandal broke, was seen taking refuge at her brother’s home in the Petworth suburb of Washington D.C. on Tuesday night.
Preparing an evening meal with a glass of wine in her hand, the 40-year-old mother-of-two wore the strain of the last few days clearly on her face. There was no sign of her husband, Scott Broadwell.
Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, has refused to speak publicly about her involvement with former CIA chief and General John Allen.
Jill Kelley has remained at her colonial style mansion during the scandal, appearing briefly in bold designer dresses for the media who have gathered outside her home.
The mother-of-three has been bombarded with offers from TV networks to conduct a sit down chat about her relationship.
Jill Kelley is the most sought after person to be named in a Washington sex scandal since Monica Lewinsky and has hired a DC lawyer. A producer from CBS TV flew from New York to Jill Kelley’s Tampa home to drop off a request for a sit down.
The producer said the aim was to “get Kelley” to New York as the bids from other networks roll in.
Friends believe Jill Kelley will agree to talk – because she desperately needs the money.
Regions Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit against her and husband Scott in April 2010, claiming they failed to make a payment on the mansion.
The bank demands repayment of $1.8 million in principal and interest on the mortgage.
Their company, Kelley Land Holdings, defaulted on a $2.1 million loan from Central Bank. Credit card issuer FIA Card Services sued Jill Kelley for defaulting on more than $25,000 in credit card debt.
It is a dramatic leap into the national media glare despite her eagerness to be a player on the local Florida social scene.
Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, has refused to speak publicly about her involvement with former CIA chief and General John Allen
One unnamed officer at the base described Jill Kelley and her sister to the Washington Post as “rich Tampa socialites who like to hang out with four-generals”.
Since news of the affair between David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell broke on Friday the Kelleys have retained the services of high -owered Washington Lawyer Abbe Lowell.
Jill Kelley in the meantime has refused to draw the curtains on the large windows of her South Tampa home – a stately, two-story brick house with a half-dozen white columns – even visibly watching news coverage of the affair.
At least twice over the past two days Jill Kelley has left her home dressed up to the nines wearing dark sunglasses and ferried herself around town in her silver Mercedes.
Jill Kelley’s identical twin sister, Natalie Khawam, also lives inside the stately home with her.
South Tampa is a conservative Southern community of big houses, big bank accounts, garden clubs and wives who pride themselves on volunteer work.
Senior military figures from MacDill Air Force Base, where Central Command is headquartered, live and socialize in the area, where helping members of the military is a major volunteer activity.
Former Mayor Pam Iorio said that she went to several parties to benefit the military at the Kelleys’ home attended by figures including Petraeus.
But they were by far not the only parties held around the city for MacDill’s officers.
“Our community’s relationship with MacDill is just multifaceted,” said Pam Iorio, who later invited the Petraeuses over to her own home for dinner.
“It’s something that is generational. People sincerely care about the military.”
David Petraeus aides said Jill Kelley took it to another level, winning the title of “honorary ambassador” for her extensive entertaining. David Petraeus even honored Jill Kelley and her husband Scott with an award in a special ceremony at the Pentagon.
Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, invoked her honorary diplomatic status on November 11 when she called to complain about reporters on her property.
“I’m an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability, so they should not be able to cross my property,” she 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.”
Jill Kelley was a frequent visitor to the sprawling military base. The doctor’s wife courted four star generals and other senior military figures as an unpaid liaison officer – describing herself as an “honorary consul” of South Korea – a position she achieved one official said “last August thanks to her good connections and network”.
She held lavish parties at her $1.3million home overlooking Tampa Bay where the General’s and their wives were feted.
In fact, her position of honorary consul, which she has proudly displayed on her Mercedes’ license plate, is symbolic and has no official duties.
Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, invoked her honorary diplomatic status on November 11 when she called to complain about reporters on her property
“She does not work as a real consul,” the anonymous official said to Foreign Policy Magazine.
He added: “Jill Kelley helped to get support for [the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement] and she arranged meetings between the ROK Ambassador to Washington and local businessmen when the ROK Ambassador visited the Tampa area.”
Jill Kelley is a close friend of the Petraeus family, and photographs circulating in the media show the dark-haired woman at parties with David Petraeus and his wife Holly.
She also met General John Allen at Central Command, and now investigators are looking at 20,000-plus pages of documents and emails between Jill Kelley and Allen.
Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, is facing the prospect of being blackballed by the military establishment.
Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old Tampa socialite who hosted parties for the nation’s top brass, has been told today that she is no longer welcome at military HQ near her Florida home.
Her complaint over threatening emails triggered an FBI investigation that led to CIA director David Petraeus’ resignation when it came to light that he was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
In an increasingly tangled sex scandal, Jill Kelley is now at the center of an investigation over alleged “inappropriate communications” between her and General John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
Jill Kelley and her identical twin sister Natalie Khawam rose from humble beginnings as daughter of Lebanese immigrants in Pennsylvania, to prolific networkers on the Tampa social scene close to Central Command.
However, her role in a sex scandal that may have heavy repercussions for national security led to a military official calling Jill Kelley to revoke her access pass while an investigation into the 30,000 “flirtatious” emails is carried out.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta ordered the inquiry while President Barack Obama has given his backing to Allen while the investigation takes place.
“She did have base access but does not currently because of her involvement in an ongoing investigation,” a military official told the Tampa Tribune.
Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, is facing the prospect of being blackballed by the military establishment
Jill Kelley was a frequent visitor to the sprawling military base. The doctor’s wife courted four star generals and other senior military figures as an unpaid liaison officer – describing herself as an “honorary consul” of South Korea – a position she achieved one official said “last August thanks to her good connections and network”.
In fact, the position of honorary consul is symbolic and has no official duties. Jill Kelley held lavish parties at her $1.3 million home overlooking Tampa Bay where the General’s and their wives were feted.
Both generals, David Petraeus and John Allen, met Jill Kelley, who friends have described as a “ferocious social climber”, when they were in charge at U.S. Central Command in 2008.
Jill Kelley has refused to speak publicly about her involvement with David Petraeus, who turned 60 last week, and General John Allen.
John Allen, 58, has denied any wrongdoing and insisted his relationship with Jill Kelley was purely platonic.
Jill Kelley has remained at her colonial style mansion during the scandal, appearing briefly in bold designer dresses for the media who have gathered outside her home.
The mother-of-three has been bombarded with offers from TV networks to conduct a sit down chat about her relationship.
Jill Kelley is the most sought after person to be named in a Washington sex scandal since Monica Lewinsky and has hired a DC lawyer. A producer from CBS TV flew from New York to Jill Kelley’s Tampa home to drop off a request for a sit down.
The producer said the aim was to “get Kelley” to New York as the bids from other networks roll in.
Friends believe Jill Kelley will agree to talk – because she desperately needs the money.
Jill Kelley, the Florida socialite who sparked the FBI’s discovery of the affair between David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, scooped an invite to his daughter Anne’s high security wedding last month.
Jill Kelley – whose own alleged relationship with General John Allen has led to his nomination to lead American troops in Europe being put on hold – was invited to the wedding of Anne Petraeus and Matt Mauney, alongside her twin sister Natalie Khawam.
Pictures taken at the nuptials clearly show Jill Kelley, 37, standing just behind the elegant bride as she claps along to a band and mingles with guests said to have included Vice President Joe Biden – and illustrate just how far the ambitious brunette had infiltrated the high-powered political world.
Anne Petraeus has posted many pictures of her big day on her website fANNEtasticfood.com and in a post called We’re Married! the 30-year-old blonde, who is a trained dietician, gave a sneak peak at her reception – with Jill Kelley standing behind her in one of the photos.
Dressed in a smart black gown, Jill Kelley – who was the unpaid “social liaison” at MacDill Air Force base in Tampa – looked to be having a fine time at the wedding, held at Rosemont Manor in Berryville, Virginia, on October 13.
Frances Townsend, former Homeland and Counterterrorism security advisor to President George Bush, today even tweeted: “Sources tell me Jill Kelley & twin both attended the Petraeus daughter wedding last month whr 1 guest refrd 2 them as the Kardashian twins!”
Jill Kelley was invited to the wedding of Anne Petraeus and Matt Mauney, alongside her twin sister Natalie Khawam
The wedding was said to be a high security affair as pr service PR Log noted three days after the wedding that: “Berryville was abuzz this past weekend as residents noticed tightened security around Historic Rosemont Manor, the former estate of Virginia Governor and US Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr.
“Rumors began circulating around town that Vice-President Joe Biden was at Rosemont. Others thought Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta was visiting.
“Berryville Police and Clarke County Sheriff Department cruisers and several unmarked SUV’s were parked within the perimeter of the Rosemont estate, some noticeable from the road.”
General Manager Bill North acknowledged that while there was heightened security at Rosemont, all Rosemont clients are offered a high level of privacy and security, saying: “Obviously, this wedding has special significance because of General Petraeus’s presence, but there will be other weddings in the future that will have enhanced security.”
Vernon Loeb, the journalist who co-wrote Paula Broadwell’s biography of General David Petraeus, has confessed to being the “most clueless man in America” for never realizing the two were having an affair.
Vernon Loeb, a Washington Post reporter who covered the Pentagon, was the ghost-writer on Paula Broadwell’s effusive All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
Colleagues raised an eyebrow at the exclusive access David Petraeus gave to Paula Broadwell, he dismissed any questions, he said.
In a column for the Post, Vernon Loeb said he found Paula Broadwell ambitious, driven and intelligent.
He said he questioned David Petraeus letting her into his inner circle, but explained away his own concerns with realization the two are alike in important ways.
Both David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell are fiercely competitive runners and both a Ivy League-educated West Point Military Academy graduates.
But, Vernon Loeb admits, his judgement was flawed.
“My wife says I’m the most clueless person in America,” he wrote.
“I never anticipated the extramarital affair between David H. Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, the woman I’d worked with for 16 months on a book about Petraeus’s year commanding the war in Afghanistan.”
Vernon Loeb, a Washington Post reporter who covered the Pentagon, was the ghost-writer on Paula Broadwell’s effusive All In The Education of General David Petraeus
Vernon Loeb said signs were there, but he always dismissed them.
“Female colleagues of mine weren’t shy in remarking about Broadwell’s good looks and her affinity for flashy, cocktail party attire even at staid national security conferences,” he wrote.
But, Vernon Loeb said, Paula Broadwell spoke warmly about her husband, a surgical radiologist in Charlotte, North Carolina, and she “clearly adores” her two young sons.
The Washington Post journalist says he wrote the book from the basement of his home in Maryland based on the notes and emails collected by Paula Broadwell on her reporting trips.
Paula Broadwell edited most of the manuscript to add her own take on David Petraeus’ command in Afghanistan – including much of the highest praise she communicated throughout the book.
Pictured for the first time since her scandalous affair with shamed former CIA boss David Petraeus became public on Friday, Paula Broadwell has taken refuge at a house owned by her brother, Stephen Kranz, in the Petworth suburb of Washington D.C.
The 40-year-old mother of two was seen looking pensive as she sipped a glass of red wine and spoke to a man and woman in the kitchen on Tuesday night – yet there was no sign of her husband Scott Broadwell.
Paula Broadwell’s emergence from the shadows came a night after FBI agents visited her Charlotte, North Carolina home and left with electronic equipment. She has not returned there since the scandal broke.
Paula Broadwell has taken refuge at a house owned by her brother, Stephen Kranz, in the Petworth suburb of Washington DC
A source told ABC the search came after Paula Broadwell admitted to the FBI that she had taken significant amounts of military documents, including classified material, from government buildings to her home.
The government demanded she return the documents and organized the visit. Prosecutors are now deciding whether to charge her with a crime as she has potentially violated federal law.
It was Paula Broadwell’s threatening emails to Jill Kelley, a Florida socialite who is a David Petraeus family friend that led to the FBI’s discovery of the affair between the biographer-turned-mistress and the nation’s top spy-chief.
As if the All In title wasn’t controversial enough for the David Petraeus biography written by his mistress Paula Broadwell, a news station ran a fake book cover during a broadcast – with a few unfortunate words added.
The blunder occurred during ABC’s Denver affiliate KMGH-TV’s 5:00 p.m. news broadcast yesterday, when the image of Paula Broadwell’s All In: The Education of David Petraeus, appeared alongside a recent video of her speaking.
But the title of the book had been altered to say: “All Up in My S*****.”
The photo pops up as one of the top images when doing a Google search of the words “All In” and “Broadwell”, which is likely what the editor searched for.
David Petraeus’ biography fake cover appeared during ABC’s Denver broadcast
The photo links to DeathandTaxesmag.com, which had removed the image by Tuesday morning – but republished it later in the day.
In a story on KMGH-TV’s own website, news director Jeff Harris called the incident “a regrettable and an embarrassing error”.
He added: “We are mortified this appeared during our 5 p.m. news broadcast. The editor pulled the image of the book cover from the internet without realizing it had been doctored.
“We sincerely regret the error and have corrected the story to avoid any recurrence of its broadcast. We are following up internally as well to avoid a repeat of this inexcusable oversight.”
There was no mention of the editor’s name, or whether he or she will be keeping their job.
As news of the story broke, the title of the book has been called out as an early indication of what David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell were up to.
Last night, Daily Show host Jon Stewart joked that the title should have been “Who Has Two Thumbs and Is Banging His Biographer?”
[youtube kIID6hDqUFM]
A jogger recently discovered a driver’s license belonging to Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, according to Maryland Park Police.
Paula Broadwell’s North Carolina license was found in Rock Creek Park, a national park that extends across Washington, D.C.’s northwest border with Maryland. The license was found in D.C. but the jogger who picked it up turned it over to the Maryland Park Police.
Paula Broadwell’s lawyer, Robert F. Muse, confirmed to U.S. News that his client had recently lost her license in the park. The agency notified the FBI that it had obtained the license and is now holding it for 90 days until it is claimed.
Paula Broadwell is believed to be staying at her brother’s residence in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington D.C., which is near Rock Creek Park.
The 40-year-old mother of two, who wrote a biography on David Petraeus, has often talked about how she and the ex-CIA chief enjoyed going on long runs together.
Paula Broadwell’s North Carolina license was found in Rock Creek Park, a national park that extends across Washington, DC’s northwest border with Maryland
Former CIA Director David Petraeus believed he could keep his affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell secret even after he was interviewed by the FBI, it emerged today.
After meeting David Petraeus on October 21 and also conducting two interviews with Paula Broadwell, the second on November 2nd, the FBI had concluded that no criminal charges would be brought.
But the FBI appears to have decided to inform the White House after a Florida-based agent informed a Republican member of Congress of the investigation.
This was the same agent who had triggered the inquiry when his friend, the socialite Jill Kelley, complained to him about anonymous harassing emails.
The fallout now threatens to engulf General John Allen of the US Marines, the NATO commander in Afghanistan. He is said to have exchanged between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of emails with Kelley since 2010.
To complicate matters further, the FBI agent had allegedly sent shirtless photos of himself to Jill Kelley before she reported the harassing emails to him and had been told not to interfere in the investigation.
The agent, depicted by government officials as a Right-winger, contacted Representative Dave Reichert and asked for a member of the House Republican leadership. On October 31st, Dave Reichert put him in contact with Representative Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip.
CIA Director David Petraeus believed he could keep his affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell secret even after he was interviewed by the FBI
Eric Cantor informed the FBI of his conversation with the FBI agent, now himself under internal investigation, but did not make the matter public. Eric Cantor apparently knew of the FBI investigation into David Petraeus’ affair eight days before President Barack Obama.
The allegedly harassing emails were discovered to have been sent by Paula Broadwell. It is believed that John Allen received at least one email from the same email account used by Paula Broadwell to contact Jill Kelley.
John Allen is now under investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general and his Senate confirmation hearings for the new post of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, originally due on Thursday, have been put on hold.
A senior defence official told reporters that it was alleged there had been “inappropriate communications” between John Allen and Jill Kelley, Leon Panetta, Defence Secretary, said in a statement.
If John Allen follows David Petraeus into retirement it will leave Barack Obama with two gaping holes to fill at the heart of his national security team at a time when he is also expected to be replacing his secretaries of state, defence and treasury.
It is unclear exactly when FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney-General Eric Holder were informed although it has emerged that the investigation began as early as May.
Yesterday it was revealed that Jill Kelley was taunted over her large nose in high school and vowed to get plastic surgery to make it look better.
Perhaps the episode points to an inner frailty about her looks that drove her determination to have a string of powerful men in her thrall.
Jill Kelley, the woman who is at the center of the scandal that has felled two top generals told fellow pupils when she and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, were 18, that they were “going to get a nose job and when we you do you’ll all be in awe of us”.
She was also “flirtatious”, gave boys she met a big grin and used to wear tight blue jeans which brought many an admiring male gaze.
It is not clear if Jill Kelley followed through on her promise to get plastic surgery.
The claims show that Jill Kelley’s interest in carefully crafting her image started at an early age.
Since the David Petraeus scandal broke, Jill Kelley has appeared in public “looking a million dollars”, notably in a bright yellow dress and three inch heels as she climbed into her Mercedes outside her mansion in Tampa, Florida yesterday and today in a polished pink and gold heels ensemble.
Judging by pictures in her high school yearbook, then Jill Khawam was glamorous and well aware of her charms even at a young age.
Jill Kelley got a nose job after she was taunted over her large nose in high school
In her official 1993 graduation photo for Lower Moreland High School in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Jill Khawam posed wearing a black dress and pearls around her neck with her jet black hair tumbling over her left shoulder.
Her body is turned to the left and has a radiant grin on her face
Jill Kelley, 37, has become the central figure in the scandal which has caused General David Petraeus, 60, to step down as head of the CIA and forced General John Allen to stand down from his post leading US troops in Afghanistan.
General John Allen, who is married, sent her between 20,000 to 30,000 e-mail messages, some of which were of an inappropriate nature.
The military scandal gripping America took an extraordinary twist yesterday, when a second general, John R. Allen, was linked to one of the two women who precipitated the fall of CIA director General David Petraeus.
David Petraeus, 60, hailed by some as the finest officer of his generation, was forced to step down after the exposure of a scandal involving X-rated emails, compromised state secrets and an affair forged in the ruins of Afghanistan.
His mistress was revealed as Paula Broadwell, a glamorous defence academic and ex-army officer, who had written a fawning biography of David Petraeus after she was “embedded” with him in Afghanistan.
Though they conducted their affair via private email accounts and with sufficient discretion to hoodwink even the suspicious minds of his CIA subordinates, it came to light thanks to old-fashioned female jealousy.
Paula Broadwell became convinced that she was, in fact, involved in a love triangle – and not one that involved David Petraeus’ wife, Holly.
The “other woman”, a 37-year-old Florida socialite and mother of three named Jill Kelley, went to the FBI after receiving threatening emails from Paula Broadwell.
But, almost incredibly, the investigation she set in train not only led to the demise of David Petraeus, but has ensnared another senior figure, General John Allen.
Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that General John Allen, 58, – who was about to be appointed NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe – is being investigated for “inappropriate communication” with Jill Kelley.
Paula Broadwell, a glamorous defence academic and ex-army officer, had written a fawning biography of David Petraeus after she was embedded with him in Afghanistan
While investigating Jill Kelley’s case, the FBI discovered what it says amounts to between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of emails between her and General John Allen between 2010 and 2012. Yesterday, some of those emails were described by a senior defence official as “flirtatious”.
John Allen succeeded Petraeus as the head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, but his new European post is now on hold.
Like David Petraeus, John Allen got to know Jill Kelley when he was stationed at Central Command near her home in Tampa, Florida, where she organizes social events for senior military families.
Not only has the widening scandal been disastrous for the Petraeus, Broadwell and Kelley families, but it has also caused major ructions in Washington as the first nightmare of the new Barack Obama presidency.
Some FBI agents considered the missives too trivial to warrant following up, but – encouraged by Jill Kelley’s FBI chum – investigators spent weeks tracing where the emails had been sent from, and eventually matched them to hotels where Paula Broadwell had been staying.
Gaining a warrant to monitor her emails, they discovered Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus – using a pseudonym – had set up private Google Mail accounts to send steamy messages to each other.
(Terrorists use the technique, by which the sender can leave messages in a “draft” folder so the recipient can log in and read them without anything being emailed.)
By late summer, the FBI had worked out the general was involved and – alerting the U.S. Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder – they interviewed Paula Broadwell in September.
Paula Broadwell admitted the affair and agreed to hand over her computer. On its hard drive, investigators found copies of undisclosed classified documents – a discovery that inevitably rang even louder alarm bells. (Federal agents returned to her home on Monday night and removed boxes of documents and two computers.)
Confronted by the FBI with its evidence the week before the presidential election, David Petraeus also admitted to the affair, but insisted he hadn’t sent the secret material to his mistress.
Officials are reportedly convinced David Petraeus is telling the truth, but still don’t know how the documents were found on Paula Broadwell’s computer.
David Petraeus found one surprising defender on Tuesday in conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson.
Pat Robertson, who is host of the Christian current events TV show The 700 Club, seemed to justify the disgraced CIA Director’s relationship with Paula Broadwell.
“The man is in a foreign land and he’s lonely and here’s a good looking lady throwing herself at him and… he’s a man,” Pat Robertson said.
He seemed sympathetic to David Petraeus’ “affairs of the heart”, and implied that he seemed to be a tragic victim.
“I don’t think he’s a devious human being. I think he’s been one of the greatest general America has ever produced. He’s a brilliant man, he’s got a Ph.D. from Princeton,” Pat Robertson said.
He added: “We’ll sadly miss a man like that.”
David Petraeus, one of the country’s most decorated war heroes, resigned from his post as the nation’s top spy on Friday after the FBI stumbled across email evidence of a months-long affair between him and Paula Broadwell.
Both are married with children, but David Petraeus, age 60, is 20 years Paula Broadwell’s senior.
Pat Robertson, who is host of the Christian current events TV show The 700 Club, seemed to justify David Petraeus’ relationship with Paula Broadwell
Pat Robertson said it was easy to explained the attraction between the two.
“She is a Lt. Colonel. She is an extremely good looking woman. She is a marathon runner. She runs Ironman triathlons. And she’s out running with him and she’s writing a biography and… I think the term is propinquity.”
Propinquity is a social science term that explains how intimately people connect with each other based on a combination of physical proximity and how similar their backgrounds and viewpoints are.
The Virginia Beach-based broadcaster’s take on the sex scandal immediately drew fire, especially from liberal groups.
“There is no evidence that Broadwell initiated the relationship and, even if she did, that doesn’t mean that he no responsibility for his decision to engage in extra-marital relations,” wrote left-wing news site Think Progress.
“Apparently Pat Robertson thinks men can’t control their bodies, but they have the divine right to control women’s. Huh.,” tweeted Daily Beat blogger Emily L. Hauser.
[youtube gnGkfZrXLsw]
Jill Kelley made headlines this week after it emerged that she was the target of harassing emails from Paula Broadwell, a 40-year-old mother of two who was engaged in a months-long affair with David Petraeus.
She has called police four times over the past two days to complain about reporters outside her home. In one call, Jill Kelley said she was an honorary consul general, adding: “I don’t know if you want to get diplomatic protection.”
Jill Kelley regularly kept in touch with then-General Petraeus when he became commander of the Afghan war effort, the two exchanging near-daily emails and instant messages, two of his former staffers say.
But those messages were exchanged in accounts that his aides monitored as part of their duties and were not romantic in tone, the staffers said.
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.
The FBI investigated her claims and traced the emails to an account set up by Paula Broadwell. As they looked into the account, they found she had exchanged intimate emails with a private Gmail account.
Further investigation revealed it belonged to David Petraeus, who was using an alias.
Jill Kelley made headlines this week after it emerged that she was the target of harassing emails from Paula Broadwell
Jill Kelley, 37, is a volunteer who organizes social events for military families in the Tampa area.
Her 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.
Jill Kelley was a medical student at one point, but put her studies on hold to have a baby, according to 2003 story in the St. Petersburg Times.
She often hosts the events at her million-dollar home located only a couple of miles from MacDill Air Force base, where Allen served from July 2008 to June 2011.
Jill Kelley’s twin sister Natalie Khawam also makes the most of the parties, becoming close with major players, including both David Petraeus and John Allen, who wrote letters on her behalf as she battled her ex-husband for custody of her son, ABC reported.
A senior official told the Associated Press that 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents from John Allen’s communications with Jill Kelley between 2010 and 2012 are under review.
A friend of the couple said Scott Kelley would not have know about the vast number of emails being exchanged by his wife and General John Allen.
“Knowing Scott, there is no way he would have approved of Jill sending so many emails to another man,” said the friend.
“What husband would be happy to see his wife sending so many different messages to another man, even if he is overseas and serving his country?”
Another friend, who has known Jill Kelley for almost a decade, added: “This has come as a complete shock. You never know what goes on behind closed doors, but no one in her circle saw this coming.
“Jill was well known for throwing parties where the military attended and she reveled in her role as honorary ambassador but sending all those emails to a general is another thing.”
Her brother, David Khawam, has also revealed their fear that she will be branded the “other woman”.
Speaking to the Today show, David Khawam said: “This is something that is going to brand her for life.
“My sister, number one, is a mother. She has three kids and is extremely dedicated to those kids.
“Number two she is a wife. She is extremely dedicated to her husband and he to her. For her to have an affair with General Petraeus is ludicrous.”
He added that he expected his sister, who has hired the crisis management firm employed by Monica Lewinsky and the attorney who represented John Edwards earlier this year, to address reports about her involvement with two of the top US military chiefs.
Since she was named as the “other other” woman in the David Petraeus affair, the spotlight has shone on Jill Kelley and her identical twin sister Natalie Khawam.
Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam have pushed themselves to the point of bankruptcy trying to keep up with the lifestyles of the rich and famous in the Sunshine State with both currently millions of dollars in debt.
Jill Kelley, the woman whose complaint to the FBI over Paula Broadwell’s threatening emails is currently fighting lawsuits worth up to $4 million against banks in Florida.
While her sister Natalie Khawam declared herself bankrupt earlier this year, owing $3.6 million, court filings show.
The twins are well known among the elite political circles of Florida and Natalie Khawam is known to have once dated Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor of Florida from 2003 to 2007.
Indeed, the sister’s GOP links extend all the way to defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose close ally and Florida Attorney General has attended a function at Jill Kelley’s home.
The two social climbing sisters are even believed to have attended party to bid farewell to the former British ambassador to the U.S. Sir Nigel Sheinweld.
Jill Kelley, who is a married mother of three is renowned for her no-expense spared parties for top military brass who are stationed at the nearby U.S. Central Command.
At one such event at her $1.2 million dollar Tampa mansion she was pictured with General David Petraeus, who arrived in a 28-man police motorcycle escort.
At these parties guests were treated copious amounts of champagne and were even entertained by string quartets while cigars were handed out.
However, keeping up appearances has come at a cost for the social climbing sisters.
Twin sisters Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam pose with David Petraeus’ wife, Holly, and daughter, Anne
Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, 37, and her cancer surgeon husband Scott owe millions to banks after the collapse of their real estate holdings in 2010.
The Kelley’s are currently the targets of at least four indebtedness lawsuits and two foreclosures in Hillsborough County, according to court records.
Central Bank have a suit against the Kelleys and Kelly Land Holdings, centered on a three-story office building downtown Tampa.
Court records show they owed the bank nearly $2.2 million, including attorney fees. In 2011, a judge ordered the property to be put up for sale.
Regions Bank, meanwhile, is trying to foreclose on the couple’s historic $1.3million waterfront house, claiming they defaulted on a $271,000-credit line with their five bedroom house as collateral, according to Gossip Extra.
It is currently worth $840,000 and though it is one of the most spectacular on Bayshore Boulevard from the outside, the 1923 built home is in need of repair.
Paintwork on the home is peeling and behind the home the driveway leading to a triple garage is cracked and covered with weeds.
The front lawn, where Jill Kelley would host catered parties attended by the military, remains immaculate but out of sight in an alleyway running at the rear of the property rubbish is piled high against a wall.
“There are obviously financial issues,” said one associate of the Kelley’s.
“Scott goes to work and works his ass off, and Jill takes care of the social stuff, and gets them into the society pages. They are nice people, and I feel sorry for them.”
The friendship between the twins and generals John Allen and David Petraeus has extended to letters supporting Natalie Khawam’s case to overturn a ruling denying her custody of her four-year-old son in Washington earlier this year.
Supplying the court a letter confirming that he knew Natalie Khawam well and had even had her over for Christmas dinner, General David Petraeus testified that she had “a very loving relationship – a mother working hard to provide her son enjoyable, educational and developmental experiences”.
General John Allen made his own intervention two days later by writing on headed notepaper that “she clearly loves” her son.
Going on to say that: “In light of Natalie’s maturity, integrity and steadfast commitment to raising her child, I humbly request your reconsideration of the existing mandated custody settlement.”
In April of this year, Natalie Khawam filed for bankruptcy on more than $3 million in taxes, property debts and loans.
Natalie Khawam is being sued in Florida by her former boss Barry Cohen, who says that she “fraudulently omitted Rolex watches, sable mink furs and a diamond ring” from her bankruptcy filing.
Sources close to the internal investigation into the David Petraeus scandal said that the commander of US Forces in Afghanistan General John Allen exchanged emails with 37-year-old Jill Kelley.
General John Allen, who is married who two daughters and leads US troops in Afghanistan denies any wrongdoing.
Officials claim his emails to Jill Kelley, who is also married with children, were simply friendly and not “inappropriate” or flirtatious.
Another official said that the Defense Secretary Leon Panetta would not have referred this matter to an internal investigator without being sure that he had to – such would be the effect on John Allen’s family and the US war effort.
“This was a serious enough matter that those who examined the emails thought it should be referred to the secretary of defense, and the secretary made the decision to turn it over to the inspector general,” the official said to Fox News.
“He would not have thrust this into the limelight without good cause.”
Sources are reviewing between 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails between Jill Kelley and General John Allen which date from between 2010 to 2012.
The investigation into the burgeoning scandal is ongoing – on Monday evening FBI agents searched Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte, North Carolina home and left with electronic equipment.
Further deepening the mire is news that the FBI agent who began the investigation into David Petraeus was taken off the case after it was found that he sent shirtless pictures of himself to Jill Kelley.
He is facing an internal investigation.
John Allen, 58, succeeded David Petraeus in Afghanistan and was due to take over as NATO’s top commander – but his appointment has been suspended while his relationship with Jill Kelley is investigated.
“General Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter,” one official close to the case said to Fox News. He said John Allen currently is in Washington.
Since she was named as the “other other” woman in the David Petraeus affair, the spotlight has shone on Jill Kelley and her identical twin sister Natalie Khawam.
Prev1...234...6Next 
Page 3 of 6
