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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.
Again, many thanks and all the best.
ATW [All The Way – a military term]”
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 website fannetasticfood.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 website fannetasticfood.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.
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”.
Holly Petraeus has reportedly threatened David Petraeus with divorce after she was left humiliated by his affair with Paula Broadwell
Holly Petraeus, former CIA director’s wife of 38 years, has reportedly threatened David Petraeus with divorce after she was left “humiliated” by his affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, it has been claimed today.
Holly Petraeus is reportedly “furious” about the affair, which forced her husband to resign from the top of the CIA ten days ago, and is demanding to know how many other women he has shared trysts with throughout their marriage.
“She can’t turn on a television, go online or open a newspaper without being bombarded by the latest revelations about his cheating,” a source told the National Enquirer.
“No wonder she’s angry. David has been falling all over himself, apologizing and begging Holly to forgive him, but she isn’t listening. After all his lies, she doesn’t believe anything he says anymore, and she’s thinking about consulting a divorce attorney.”
The source claimed Holly Petraeus has suspicions that her husband had an affair with Jill Kelley, the Florida socialite who sparked his downfall after tipping off the FBI about threatening emails from Paula Broadwell.
While David Petraeus denies they have ever been involved, Holly Petraeus is uncertain and keeps demanding to know how many other women he has cheated on her with, the source said.
Jill Kelley has also denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement she was simply a friend of David Petraeus, whom she met through her work at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
Holly and David Petraeus attended lavish garden parties at Jill Kelley’s Tampa, Florida mansion, where she lives with her husband, their three children and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam.
The Petraeuses have been married 38 years after meeting on a blind date when David Petraeus was a student at the military academy at West Point, where Holly’s father was the superintendent.
David Petraeus graduated in June 1947 and the couple married the following month, before going on to have two children, Ann and Stephen, and travelling throughout 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 working with service members as a financial advocate to ensure they were treated fairly by businesses.
In 2011, Holly Petraeus was appointed to the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs, a post she still holds.
Holly Petraeus’ threats of divorce come little more than a month after she and her husband were the picture of unity at their daughter’s wedding – three months after David Petraeus’ affair with Paula Broadwell had come to an end.
But on November 9, he stepped down from the CIA after the FBI uncovered his relationship with Paula Broadwell.
The affair was discovered after Paula Broadwell sent a string of “threatening” emails to military party planner Jill Kelley, whom she deemed a threat.
According to friends, Jill Kelley considered some of the anonymous messages death threats, after Paula Broadwell vowed to make Kelley “go away” – and the concerned housewife contacted the FBI.
The anonymous emails contained classified information about David Petraeus’ whereabouts and, thinking there had been a potential national security breach, the FBI was forced to investigate.
During their probe, they traced the emails back to Paula Broadwell and also uncovered emails revealing her months-long affair with David Petraeus, whom she had first met as a student in 2006.
In interviews and her biography of David Petraeus, All In, Paula Broadwell lauded Holly Petraeus as a “wonderful source of information” and revealed that she had read the book and enjoyed it.
In the book, Paula Broadwell recounted details from dozens of hours of interviews between Holly and David Petraeus in a description of how the couple met and fell in love.
Paula Broadwell described the relationship as virtually unbreakable – while at the same time carrying on an illicit affair with David behind Holly Petraeus’ back.
Holly Petraeus, wife of disgraced ex-CIA chief David Petraeus, can hardly imagine a life outside the military as she counts four generations of servicemen, “my great-grandfather, grandfather, father, husband, brother”.
Their son, Stephen Petraeus, 25, is in the army too.
Daughter Anne Petraeus, 29, teaches English overseas.
“I am privileged to have two extraordinary men — my husband and my father — in my life,” Holly Petraeus, now 59, said during an interview in 2009.
Her father, the late Army Gen. William A. Knowlton, was superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy when Holly met David Petraeus on a blind date in the fall of their senior year.
Holly Knowlton was a French and English major at Dickinson College. David Petraeus was a West Point cadet.
“He had no idea the blind date was with <<the boss’ daughter>> until it was too late to get out of it!” Holly Petraeus said.
Holly and David Petraeus married in 1974, two months after he graduated at the top of his class
Holly and David Petraeus married in 1974, two months after he graduated at the top of his class. For nearly 38 years, Holly Petraeus has been holding down the home front as her husband climbed the ranks.
Asked for adjectives that best describe her, Holly Petraeus supplies two: self-sufficient and reliable.
“I’ve never lived more than four years in one place,” she said.
Holly Petraeus has moved many times and lived multiple times in Washington, but never gets rid of books. She favors biographies. She has been reading about Islam and the Middle East, but has not been to Iraq.
Jill Kelley, Florida socialite at the centre of the David Petraeus sex scandal, has spoken for the first time and said she is an “innocent victim”.
Jill Kelley said: “I’ve done nothing wrong. I am the victim here. But it still feels awful.”
She has been called “the other woman” in the affair leading to speculation she was romantically involved with the former CIA chief.
Jill Kelley tipped off FBI agents about the affair when she handed over a series of anonymous emails sent by Paula Broadwell warning her to stay away from David Petraeus in the summer.
The 37-year-old spoke with her brother, a lawyer, as her name first became linked to the resignation of David Petraeus.
David Khawan told the Washington Post his sister telephoned him on Sunday and told him to switch on the TV because her name was all over news broadcasts.
He said his sister told him she was totally innocent and was not the “other woman” in David Petraeus’s life.
David Khawan is quoted as saying his sister said: “I’ve done nothing wrong. I am the victim here. But it still feels awful.”
Friends of Jill Kelley, a vivacious Lebanese-born mother of three known for her love of expensive designer dresses, said that she is devoted to her family and scoffed at suggestions that she was romantically involved with David Petraeus.
“This other woman obviously read all the signs wrong,” said a friend who knows Jill Kelley from their children’s private school.
“Jill is very attractive and can be touchy-feely. That’s just the way she is and there is nothing else.”
Jill Kelley, Florida socialite at the centre of the David Petraeus sex scandal, has spoken for the first time and said she is an innocent victim
Jill Kelley, a well known figure on the social scene in her hometown of Tampa, Florida, has hired a crisis management firm and top lawyer since being linked to the scandal.
This has led to speculation that further damaging details could be revealed in the fall out from David Petraeus’s resignation.
Sources have revealed that the emails she received from Paula Broadwell were “kind of cat-fight stuff”.
Jill Kelley went to the FBI with the emails – and triggered the investigation that led to the downfall of David Petraeus and his shock resignation as CIA chief.
The source told The Daily Beast the emails were: “More like, <<Who do you think you are? … You parade around the base … You need to take it down a notch.>>”
The Wall Street Journal reported that in one of the emails Paula Broadwell asked Jill Kelley if her husband was aware of her actions.
Another accused Jill Kelley of touching David Petraeus provocatively under a table.
The source also said Jill Kelley would often accompany David Petraeus’s wife Holly on shopping trips to the International Mall in Tampa.
Jill Kelley, whose husband is a top cancer surgeon, has dodged questions from the media.
Before leaving her home she called police to the $1.3 million mansion to ask media to respect her privacy.
Jill Kelley left the home in a silver Mercedes with the registration plate “Honorary Consul” – a nod to her work as an unpaid liaison officer for the military headquarters at MacDill Airforce Base.
It was during David Petraeus’s two years in Tampa at the CENTCOM headquarters that he became friends with Jill Kelley and her husband Scott.
The friendship continued after the general left Tampa with the Kelley’s visiting the Petraeus’s home in Washington DC.
