WASHINGTON (AP) — As questions swirl about the extramarital affair that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus, the retired general and his biographer, Paula Broadwell,
have been quiet about details of their relationship. However,
information has emerged about the woman who received the emails from Broadwell that led to the FBI's discovery of Petraeus' indiscretion.
A senior U.S. military official
identified the second woman as Jill Kelley, 37, who lives in Tampa,
Fla., and serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base
in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations
Command are located.
In a statement Sunday, Kelley and
her husband, Scott, said: "We and our family have been friends with
Gen. Petraeus and his family for over five years. We respect his and his
family's privacy and want the same for us and our three children."
The military official who
identified Kelley spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. He said Kelley had
received harassing emails from Broadwell, which led the FBI to examine
her email account and eventually discover her relationship with
Petraeus. The FBI contacted Petraeus and other intelligence officials,
and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asked Petraeus to
resign.
A former associate of Petraeus confirmed the target of the emails was
Kelley, but said there was no affair between the two, speaking on
condition of anonymity to discuss the retired general's private life.
The associate, who has been in touch with Petraeus since his
resignation, said Kelley and her husband were longtime friends of
Petraeus and his wife, Holly.
Attempts to reach Kelley were not successful. Broadwell did not return phone calls or emails.
The Petraeus news caught much of Washington by surprise and members
of Congress said Sunday they want to know more details about the FBI
investigation that revealed the extramarital affair between Petraeus and
his biographer. They questioned when the retired general popped up in
the FBI inquiry, whether national security was compromised and why they
weren't told sooner.
"We received no advanced notice.
It was like a lightning bolt," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of
California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on "Fox
News Sunday."
Petraeus, 60, quit Friday after
acknowledging an extramarital relationship. He has been married 38 years
to Holly Petraeus, with whom he has two adult children, including a son
who led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan as an Army lieutenant.
Broadwell, a 40-year-old graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and an Army Reserve officer, is married with two young sons.
Petraeus' affair with Broadwell will be the subject of meetings
Wednesday involving congressional intelligence committee leaders, FBI
deputy director Sean Joyce and CIA deputy director Michael Morell.
Petraeus had been scheduled to appear before congressional committees
on Thursday to testify about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate
in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including U.S.
Ambassador Chris Stevens. Morell was expected to testify in place of
Petraeus, and lawmakers said he should have the answers to their
questions.
But Feinstein and others didn't rule out the possibility that
Congress will compel Petraeus to testify about Benghazi at a later date,
even though he's relinquished his job.
Clapper was told by the Justice
Department of the Petraeus investigation at about 5 p.m. on Election
Day, and then called Petraeus and urged him to resign, according to a
senior U.S. intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
FBI officials said the congressional committees weren't informed
until Friday, one official said, because the matter started as a
criminal investigation into harassing emails allegedly sent by Broadwell
to Kelley.
Concerned that emails Petraeus exchanged with Broadwell raised the
possibility of a security breach, the FBI brought the matter up with him
directly, according to the official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the
investigation.
Petraeus decided to quit, though he was breaking no laws by having an affair, officials said.
Staffers for Petraeus said Kelley and her husband were regular guests at events he held at Central Command headquarters.
A U.S. official said the coalition countries represented at Central
Command gave Kelley an appreciation certificate on which she was
referred to as an "honorary ambassador" to the coalition, but she has no
official status and is not employed by the U.S. government.
The official, speaking on
condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case
publicly, said Kelley is known to drop the "honorary" part and refer to
herself as an ambassador.