The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, is under investigation for “inappropriate”
emails to a woman linked to the sex scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus, a defense official has said. The emails are said to have been sent to Jill Kelley whose complaint led the FBI to uncover Gen Petraeus’s extra-marital affair with Paula Broadwell.
Some details about Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, came from a terse overnight statement by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Petraeus resigned abruptly last week over an extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. Kelley, of Tampa, Florida, had alerted the FBI to receiving threatening emails earlier this year that were eventually traced to Broadwell.
The defense official says the investigation into Allen involves 20,000 to 30,000 emails that were dated between 2010 and 2012, and that the department is in the very early stages of their investigation. Panetta said in a statement that his department was informed about the case by the FBI on Sunday and that he had referred it to the Pentagon’s inspector general for investigation.
“Gen. Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter,” the official said. He said Allen currently is in Washington. Allen will remain in his job, but Mr Panetta said in a statement that he had asked for the general’s pending nomination as Nato’s supreme allied commander in Europe to be delayed.
Retired colonel Steve Boylan, a friend and former Petraeus spokesman, said the affair between Petraeus and his biographer began about two months after he assumed his post at the CIA in September 2011, and thus after he retired from the US Army.
It remained unclear what allegations Allen faced, and officials declined to comment as to whether the Marine general was accused of using his work email to communicate with Kelley or had disclosed any classified information. A defense official told CNN there is a “distinct possibility” that the investigation into Allen is connected to the investigation that led to the resignation of Petraeus.
Panetta said President Barack Obama was consulted and agreed that Allen’s nomination should be put on hold. The Associated Press reports FBI agents appeared at Broadwell’s home carrying the kinds of cardboard boxes often used for evidence gathering during a search. Both Gen. Petraeus and Gen. Allen served in Tampa, home to US Central Command, which Gen. Petraeus led before taking over as commander in Afghanistan in 2010.
emails to a woman linked to the sex scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus, a defense official has said. The emails are said to have been sent to Jill Kelley whose complaint led the FBI to uncover Gen Petraeus’s extra-marital affair with Paula Broadwell.
Some details about Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, came from a terse overnight statement by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Petraeus resigned abruptly last week over an extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. Kelley, of Tampa, Florida, had alerted the FBI to receiving threatening emails earlier this year that were eventually traced to Broadwell.
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| The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, is under investigation for “inappropriate” emails to a woman linked to the sex scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus |
“Gen. Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter,” the official said. He said Allen currently is in Washington. Allen will remain in his job, but Mr Panetta said in a statement that he had asked for the general’s pending nomination as Nato’s supreme allied commander in Europe to be delayed.
Retired colonel Steve Boylan, a friend and former Petraeus spokesman, said the affair between Petraeus and his biographer began about two months after he assumed his post at the CIA in September 2011, and thus after he retired from the US Army.
 |
| The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, is under investigation for “inappropriate” emails to a woman linked to the sex scandal involving former CIA director David Petraeus |
Panetta said President Barack Obama was consulted and agreed that Allen’s nomination should be put on hold. The Associated Press reports FBI agents appeared at Broadwell’s home carrying the kinds of cardboard boxes often used for evidence gathering during a search. Both Gen. Petraeus and Gen. Allen served in Tampa, home to US Central Command, which Gen. Petraeus led before taking over as commander in Afghanistan in 2010.
