• FBI agent sent shirtless photo to Kelley before email investigation, officials say

    The woman who triggered the investigation that led to the resignation of CIA chief David Petraeus threw lavish parties for top military brass – and also racked up debt. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

    By NBC News staff

    The FBI agent who was asked by Jill Kelley to look into disturbing emails she received was a friend of hers and never had a further part in the investigation, a senior law enforcement official said Tuesday.


    The official says the FBI agent had met Kelley many months before she complained to him about the threatening emails -- allegedly sent by Paula Broadwell, Gen. David Petraeus’ biographer and a woman with whom he is believed to have had an affair.

    The agent sent Kelley a photo of himself with no shirt, "as a joke, a gag" at least six months before she began receiving the troubling emails, the official said. There is, the official said, no indication that the relationship between the two was anything more than a friendship.

    But the official says that after Kelley came to the agent with her complaint, he faded from the picture and was not in on the investigation. Then agents discovered the shirtless photo in her e-mails, which was reported to his supervisors, resulting in an internal investigation into whether he acted inappropriately.

    He's the same agent who contacted House Republicans in October to complain that the investigation was stalled. But, the official said, the agent was far out of the loop and had no idea all of the investigative activity still under way at that point.

    House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s office called the FBI on Oct. 31 asserting that it had heard from an FBI agent who raised concerns that the matter was being covered up or not being taken seriously.

    Those who know the two women at the center of General David Petraeus' affair scandal are speaking out. Jill Kelley's brother says she is "dedicated" to her husband, while Paula Broadwell's friend calls her "a pretty great person." NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

    "I was contacted by an FBI employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain (FBI Director Robert) Mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security,” Cantor said in a statement.

    Cantor's office was told that the case was being actively investigated by the FBI, and so it would have been wrong for the FBI or Justice Department to inform higher-level officials in the administration about the probe earlier -- because they were unsure at that point what they were dealing with. In the end, according to multiple officials, investigators determined there was no criminal wrongdoing.

    The agent provides yet another link to Kelley, who has become a central figure in the scandal that led to the resignation of Petraeus over his affair with Broadwell: Her complaint to the FBI kicked off the investigation, and her emails with another major military figure, Gen. John Allen, have led to an investigation over allegations of “inappropriate” emails between Allen and Kelley. Allen replaced Petraeus as commander in Afghanistan last year.

    The emails between Allen and Kelley do not signify the two had an affair, a defense official told NBC News on Tuesday. “There was no affair,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.  The emails in question could be misconstrued, the official said, predicting that the investigation will prove Allen’s innocence.

    NBC News justice correspondent Pete Williams contributed to this report.

    Ret. Col. Jack Jacobs weighs in on the scandal that has ensnared former CIA chief David Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, telling TODAY's Savannah Guthrie that Allen has a stellar career and great reputation but he "wouldn't be surprised" if his NATO nomination was withdrawn.

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  • Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails

    Officials say that thousands of emails between General John Allen and Florida socialite Jill Kelley are flirtatious, but the general denies a relationship. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.


    By NBC News staff

    Updated 4 p.m. ET: Allegedly “inappropriate” emails between U.S. Gen. John Allen and the woman who sparked the investigation into CIA Director David Petraeus do not signify the two had an affair, a defense official told NBC News on Tuesday.

    “There was no affair,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.  The emails in question could be misconstrued, the official said, predicting that the investigation will prove Allen’s innocence.

    Allen, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, is under investigation over allegations that he exchanged “inappropriate” emails with Jill Kelley, a senior defense official told reporters earlier Tuesday.

    A difference of opinion appeared to be brewing at the Pentagon about how to characterize the emails, with another official calling them flirtatious.

    Kelley, a Tampa, Fla., woman who has acted as a volunteer “social liaison” with military officials at MacDill Air Force Base,  inadvertently launched the investigation that led to Petraeus’ resignation by complaining to the FBI about anonymous emails she received.  FBI agents traced the allegedly threatening emails to Paula Broadwell, Petraeus' biographer. 

    Emails on 'coming and goings' of Petraeus, other military officials escalated FBI concerns

    During the investigation, agents discovered emails between Petraeus and Broadwell that were indicative of an extramarital affair between them, according to government and law enforcement officials.

    Petraeus, who was appointed 14 months ago to head the Central Intelligence Agency, announced his resignation on Friday, citing an extramarital affair.

    Word of the investigation into Gen. Allen’s involvement came early Tuesday, when U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta issued a statement during a flight to Australia for a meeting with defense officials there, saying that  the FBI had referred “a matter involving" Allen to the Department of Defense's Inspector General.

    Those who know the two women at the center of General David Petraeus' affair scandal are speaking out. Jill Kelley's brother says she is "dedicated" to her husband, while Paula Broadwell's friend calls her "a pretty great person." NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

    “Today, the secretary directed that the matter be referred to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense for investigation, and it is now in the hands of the Inspector General,” Panetta said.

    Panetta’s statement did not include specifics, but a senior defense official traveling with him told reporters that Allen “was under investigation for “inappropriate communications” with Kelley.

    The official also said the investigation involved some 20,000 to 30,000 pages of material, mostly emails, which were sent from 2010 to 2012, adding that Allen “disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter.”

    Later in the day, however, a defense official at the Pentagon told NBC News that the number of emails between Allen and Kelley was inflated.

     

    The FBI eventually discovered that the emails received by Jill Kelley, a close friend of the Petraeus family, were sent by Paula Broadwell. And as they dug deeper, the affair between Broadwell and Petraeus came to light. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    "That is a mischaracterization," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The communications with General Allen were lumped in with a lot of other email traffic."

    The official said that the Allens and Kelleys were "family friends," and the emails were written in that manner. Many of the emails were not personal communications between the general and Jill Kelley, the official added, but included Allen's wife. And many were between Allen's wife and Jill Kelley, with General Allen just copied, the official said.

    "What we're dealing with is the possible perception of inappropriateness," the official said, but it will become clear that there was no wrongdoing. "This is not at the level of the director of the CIA."

    According to a senior U.S. military official, Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson read "a number" of the emails between Allen and Kelley before he advised Panetta to refer the matter to the Inspector General.

    "Leon Panetta didn't make this decision lightly," the official said late Tuesday. The emails were more than just calling one another "sweetheart," characterizing them as flirtatious, the official said.

    While the emails may not prove an affair or even be inappropriate, they were unprofessional, the official said.

    Allen will meet with investigators over the next few days, but then he is expected to head back to Afghanistan to continue in his role as Commander of ISAF, according to the official.

    Panetta’s statement said that Allen would remain commander of ISAF during the investigation and that he was “entitled to due process in this matter.”

    But Allen’s nomination to take over as head of U.S. forces in Europe and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, was put on hold “until the relevant facts are determined,” Panetta said.

    Slideshow: Petraeus case: Cast of characters

    ISAF via Reuters file

    Meet the people who have been pulled into the scandal that caused Gen. David Petraeus to resign.

    Launch slideshow

    Allen was in Washington, D.C., preparing for his Senate confirmation hearings which were originally scheduled for Thursday, NBC News reported.

    Allen had no advance warning about the investigation, a close aide of Allen’s told NBC News. He was alerted to the probe by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey Monday night ET. Allen had a number of meetings scheduled for Tuesday on Capitol Hill, although the aide was unsure if they would take place.

    Allen’s connection to the Petraeus investigation also seems to have caught the Defense Department off guard.

    “This came as very surprising news, to say the least. No one in the Pentagon is leaping to conclusions just yet,” a senior defense official traveling with Panetta told NBC News.  “It's important to review the materials to determine the facts, and it's too early speculate about where this will lead.  In the meantime, Gen. Allen needs to focus on the war effort, which he's successfully led since last year.”

    The ISAF was also unaware of the investigation until late Monday or early Tuesday, and it declined to comment, in a written statement, referring all questions to the Defense Department.

    Allen, a highly decorated officer, took over as ISAF commander in July 2011, and was nominated on Oct. 10 to take over as NATO commander, the same time that his successor at the ISAF was named as Gen. Joseph Dunford.

    The confirmation of Dunford, currently assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, is now expected to be fast tracked.

    “The secretary has respectfully requested that the Senate act promptly on that nomination," Panetta’s statement said.

    NBC News' Courtney Kube, Jeff Black, Ian Johnston and Rachel Elbaum contributed to this report.

     

    Some members of Congress are saying that they or, at the least President Obama, should have been told about the investigation into the director of the CIA while it was going on. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

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  • Palin aide pays $11,900 fine to settle ethics complaint over emails

    By Bill Dedman, Investigative Reporter, NBC News

    A former top aide to Sarah Palin when she was Alaska governor has paid $11,900 to settle an ethics complaint with the state of Alaska.

    Mark Wilson / Getty Images

    One of Palin's former aides penned a tell-all book about the abbreviated administration of the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate.

    The complaint by Republican activist Andrée McLeod alleged that Frank Bailey used confidential emails, which were being withheld from the public, to write "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin," his tell-all book about the abbreviated administration of the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate.

    The settlement was reached last week and disclosed Tuesday when the attorney general's office informed McLeod.

    Documents in the case, in PDF files:

    The fines are described in the settlement as $3,600 for using confidential information in drafting his book, $7,200 for disclosing confidential information to his co-authors, and $1,100 for publishing information after the state Department of Law told him it was confidential. The settlement said Bailey withheld more information on the advise of the state lawyers.

    More: Reporter Richard Mauer at The Anchorage Daily News has more on the ethics case.

    McLeod issued a statement on Tuesday saying more disclosure is needed:

    “Justice has yet to be served.  I have called on the Attorney General to reveal all the public’s documents and emails that Bailey confiscated and shared with others when he left state employment.”

    McLeod and members of the media have requested all of Palin’s email communications for the time she was Alaska’s governor.  Although some have been revealed, many couldn’t be located because of Palin’s rampant use of private email accounts for official business, and thousands more remain undisclosed as Alaska’s governor’s office cites executive privileges and other delay tactics.

    “Every one of those confidential and still undisclosed public documents that were in Bailey’s possession must be made public, immediately, as Bailey broke the chain of custody when he illegally shared them with his co-authors Jeanne Devon and Ken Morris,” McLeod said. 

    “This is the second time that Sarah’s go-to guy has been found to have crossed the line.  The first was back in November of 2008 when I filed another complaint against Sarah and her staff, including Bailey,” McLeod said.

    McLeod continues, “This agreement proves, yet again, that Sarah Palin’s account of her role in reforming Alaska’s government while governor is truly the only real ‘false narrative’ being bandied about.”

    Previous coverage: See our coverage from last summer on the release of many of the Palin administration's emails, including our database where you can read those documents.