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Petraeus Scandal: Jill Kelley Complained To Tampa Mayor About "Stalker" Broadwell
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 16, 2012
Modified Nov 16, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 16, 2012
Modified Nov 16, 2012
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At this point, we agree with Bill Simmons's assessment of the ongoing David Petraeus scandal—anything could happen and anybody could be roped into it, and we'd believe it. And to that end, two more major parties have been pulled into the Melrose's Place-esque four-star dramedy: the White House, and the mayor of Tampa. It turns out that everyone's favorite other other woman, Jill Kelley, and her twin sister have both visited the White House three times this fall, twice eating with a mid-level Obama administration staffer. As if that wasn't weird enough, Kelley also reached out to her good friend, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, in recent days, complaining about the media and Paula Broadwell.
"I wouldn't care — if they got the facts right and the focus was on the criminal that stalked all of us," Kelley wrote on Tuesday, referring to Broadwell, Petraeus’s biographer and mistress, and the woman who sent her "harassing" emails. "But the truth will one day prevail." Kelley, who is said to know Buckhorn socially, sent him several emails over the course of the week about the scandal. She complained that her name, along with those of former CIA director Petraeus and General John R. Allen, "have been exploited by the media." She also pleading for help with the “paparazzi” outside her home.
She also complained, "to put insult to injury, your police dept gave the local 911 tapes to the press!" That referred to the 911 calls in which she complained about reporters and photographers staking out her home, invoking "diplomatic protection."
The Washington Post reports that Kelley "flaunted her access to these military VIPs," but also developed what family members called genuine friendships with some, most predominantly Allen. Among other things, Kelley accompanied Allen on a military flight from MacDill to Washington on at least one occasion, and she also went skydiving with a parachute demonstration team as a guest of U.S. Special Operations Command.
While Broadwell has mostly stayed out of the limelight for the past week, Petraeus appeared before lawmakers during private hearings this morning to testify about deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, one which he claimed the CIA always believed was a terrorist attack. "The general was adamant there was no politicization of the process, no White House interference or political agenda," said Rep. Adam Schiff. "He completely debunked that idea."
Tagged
affair
david petraeus
general david petraeus
jill kelley
paula broadwell
petraeus
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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