• In 911 calls, Kelley tried to invoke diplomatic immunity

    NBC's Pete Williams and Michael Isikoff detail new information surrounding Jill Kelley, one of the women at the center of the controversy surrounding Gen. David Petraeus' resignation from the CIA.

    By NBC News staff

    Audiotapes of several 911 calls placed by Florida socialite Jill Kelley as the media descended on her Tampa home show she complained about what she considered trespassing on her property and attempted to invoke diplomatic-type privileges.


    “I am an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability,” Kelley told a 911 dispatcher. “They should not be able to cross my property. I don’t know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well?”

    A South Korean official confirmed to NBC News that Kelley is an honorary consul for South Korea, but said she has no diplomatic immunity. He said Kelley assists the consulate based in Atlanta on occasion with things like passports and visas but is not an employee. 

    The U.S. State Department said Kelley has no formal affiliation with that U.S. agency.

    “I can assure you that she does not work for the State Department and has no formal affiliation with the State Department,” State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said.

    In other calls to Tampa police, Kelley said strangers had entered through a gate and were bashing on her door, trying to push it open. In another call, Kelley said at least 10 people were blocking her alley so she couldn’t get into her driveway.

    Kelley, 37, became involved in the scandal that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus after complaining to the FBI about anonymous, threatening emails she received.

    Her complaint touched off an investigation that uncovered an apparent affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

    During the investigation, the FBI traced the allegedly threatening emails to Broadwell.

    Kelley and her husband, who is a surgeon, are close friends of the Petraeus family. She has been a volunteer social liaison to the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, often hosting parties for top brass.

    More information is emerging about Jill Kelley, the woman whose complaints inadvertently alerted the FBI to Gen. David Petraeus' affair, including the fact that she received help from Petraeus and Gen. John Allen during her sister's bitter custody battle. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

    On Wednesday, a Department of Defense official confirmed to NBC News that Kelley’s special access to the base, which she had been granted due to her participation in community outreach events, has been suspended. Now, if she wants to enter the base, she must go in like any other individual and show her ID and get a daily pass. The official said the reason for the suspension is because she is part of an ongoing investigation. 

    The investigation also uncovered emails between Kelley and Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, which a Defense Department official described as "potentially inappropriate."

    But another defense official told NBC News on Tuesday that the emails had been misconstrued.

    “There was no affair,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

    It also emerged this week that Petraeus and Allen had intervened in a Washington, D.C., custody battle in September that involved Natalie Khawam, Kelley's twin sister.

    As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen intervened in nasty custody battle
         Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails

    They wrote letters on behalf of Khawam, who was found by a judge to have "severe personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity."

    In an interview with TODAY, Kelley’s brother, David Khawam, threw his support behind Kelley.

    “My sister, number one, is a mother. She has three kids. She’s extremely dedicated to those kids. Number two, she’s a wife. She’s extremely dedicated to her husband. And he to her,” he said. “This is something that’s going to brand her for life.” 

    In the latest turn in the scandal involving two top US generals, the FBI said they have uncovered "flirtatious" emails between General John Allen and socialite Jill Kelley but have found no wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the general strongly denies any misconduct. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    More content from NBCNews.com:

    Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


  • Jill Kelley: The woman near the heart of a scandal

    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

    Florida socialite Jill Kelley has emerged as a central figure in the growing scandal that’s ensnared high-ranking officials at the CIA and the Pentagon.


    In the latest twist, U.S. General John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, is under investigation for exchanging what officials describe as “inappropriate” emails with Kelley, a Tampa, Fla., wife and a mother of three daughters.

    That revelation came days after the resignation of Gen. David Petraeus -- a family friend of Kelley’s -- from his post as director of the CIA over an admitted affair.

    "This is something that's going to brand her for life," David Khawam, Kelley's brother, told TODAY. "My sister, number one, is a mother. OK, she has three kids. She's extremely dedicated to those kids. Number two, she's a wife. She's extremely dedicated to her husband. And he to her.”

    Officials say Kelley’s complaint to the FBI over anonymous, threatening emails touched off the investigation that led to Petraeus’ resignation after officials uncovered an apparent affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

    ISAF commander Gen. John Allen under investigation over 'inappropriate' emails

    Now, even the FBI agent who first heard Kelley’s complaint is under scrutiny, officials said.

    Kelley and her husband, who is a surgeon, are close friends of the Petraeus family. Kelley, 37, was a volunteer social liaison to the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where she often hosted parties for top brass. Kelley also has a twin sister, Natalie, who is a lawyer based in Florida.

    According to a senior official, the investigation that led to Petraeus' resignation began several months ago when Kelley reported she had received anonymous harassing emails from a person she didn't know.

    The FBI viewed the matter as a potential case of "cyber-harassment" and it was handled "regionally" with federal prosecutors working with the FBI on the matter, the official said. At first, neither Kelley nor the FBI knew who was sending the harassing emails because they came from accounts that were not immediately identifiable.

    Petraeus revelation began as cyber-harassment probe; investigation ended 4 days before election

    But the FBI was eventually able to determine they came from Broadwell. Investigators then obtained access to Broadwell’s regular email account, where they uncovered her email exchanges with Petraeus and an apparent relationship between the two of them, the official said.

    The FBI agent whom Kelley asked to look into the emails she received was a friend and had no further part in the investigation, a senior law enforcement official said Tuesday.

    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. Agents discovered the shirtless photo in her e-mails, resulting in an internal investigation into whether he acted inappropriately.

    The FBI has declined to identify the agent.

    A statement released late on Sunday on behalf of Kelley and her husband, Scott, read: "We and our family have been friends with General Petraeus and his family for over 5 years. We respect his and his family's privacy and want the same for us and our three children."

    Frequently fundraising for the Wounded Warriors Project, the Kelleys socialized with Petreaus and his wife, Holly. In 2010, the Petraeuses watched the Gasparilla parade from a tent on the Kelleys front lawn.

    Kelley's brother said he stands by her sister and offers his full support.

    "The conversations I had with her were basically, that I love you and and we're here for whatever you need," Khawam told TODAY.

    In a 1988 Philadelphia Inquirer feature, the Khawams are described as a Lebanese family that emigrated to Philadelphia in the 1970s. Among other activities, they ran a Middle Eastern restaurant called Sahara.

    More content from NBCNews.com:

    Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

     

  • 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.

    More content from NBCNews.com:

    Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

     

  • 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.

    Related content from NBCNews.com:

    Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

     

     

     

     

  • Afghans fatally shoot 2 US troops at joint base

    An Afghan soldier and a literacy teacher shot and killed two American soldiers in Afghanistan Thursday. This is the latest in a series of deaths as anti-Americanism rises in the country following the accidental burning of Qurans by U.S. soldiers. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

    By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

    KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two American soldiers were killed Thursday in a shooting by an Afghan soldier and a literacy teacher at a joint base in southern Afghanistan, officials said, the latest in a series of deaths as anti-Americanism rises following the burning of Qurans by U.S. soldiers.

    Both were killed on the same day that the top NATO commander allowed a small number of foreign advisers to return to work at Afghan ministries after more than a week of being locked down in secure locations because of the killing of two other Americans.

    Thursday's killings raised to six the number of Americans killed in less than two weeks amid heightened tensions over the Feb. 20 burning of Qurans and other Islamic texts that had been dumped in a garbage pit at Bagram Air Field near Kabul. More than 30 Afghans also were killed in six days of violent riots that broke out after the incident.

    President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials apologized and said the burning was an accident, but that has failed to quell the anger.

    "We are staying the course in Afghanistan," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today, adding that the strategy of partnering and working with Afghan National Security Forces "is not changing."

    NYT: Quran burning outrage complicates US pullout

    One of the gunmen was wearing civilian clothing and the other was believed to be a member of the Afghan army, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

    "Two individuals, one believed to be an Afghan National Army service member and the other in civilian clothing, turned their weapons indiscriminately against International Security Assistance Force and Afghan National Security Force service members in southern Afghanistan today," the statement said.

    A senior defense official confirmed to NBC News that both of the NATO service members were American.

    The Associated Press quoted a U.S. official as saying three attackers were believed to be involved, two of whom were subsequently killed. He said the third may be in custody. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

    A district chief in southern Kandahar's Zhari district said the shootings took place on a NATO base when an Afghan civilian who taught a literacy course for Afghan soldiers and lived on the base started shooting at NATO troops. Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi said the shootings occurred at 3 a.m. and that NATO troops returned fire and killed the man and an Afghan soldier.

    Mohammad Mohssan, an Afghan Army spokesman in Kandahar city, confirmed the incident occurred at a base in Zhari and involved two Afghans, one of whom was a soldier, who opened fire on coalition troops from a sentry tower. He said both were killed.

    The shootings on Thursday were the latest in a series of attacks by Afghan security forces — or militants disguised in their uniforms — against Americans and other members of the international alliance. Last month the Pentagon released data showing that 75 percent of the more than 45 insider attacks since 2007 occurred in the last two years.

    More than 75 NATO ISAF troops have been killed by Afghan forces in the past 5 years.

    They are likely to raise further questions about the training of Afghan security forces by coalition troops as foreign forces prepare to withdraw by 2014.

    Afghanistan unrest stirs worries, but doesn't shake commitment

    Hundreds of advisers were pulled out of ministries and other government locations after an Afghan gunman shot and killed two U.S. military advisers on Feb. 25 inside their office at the Interior Ministry. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the ministry shootings, saying they were conducted in retaliation for last week's Quran burnings, but no one has been arrested in the case.

    An Afghan soldier also killed two U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan on Feb. 23 during a protest over the Quran burnings.

    U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings said Thursday that Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, approved the return of selected personnel. He could not elaborate which ministries were involved, but an Afghan official said some had returned to a department setting up a government-run security force that will guard international development projects.

    A NATO official said less than a dozen advisers had returned. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

    Foreign advisers are key to helping improve governance and prepare Afghan security forces to take on more responsibility. The U.S. is already reducing its own troop presence by 30,000 at the end of the summer. Many of the remaining soldiers will switch from fighting to training and mentoring Afghan forces. 

    NBC News' Courtney Kube, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

    More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

    Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world