The people involved in the David Petraeus scandal
The unexpected resignation of acclaimed former Army general and CIA Director David Petraeus over an extramarital affair and a new investigation of his successor, Gen. John Allen, resembles a soap opera. In order to understand the dynamics of the case, we’ve broken down the cast of characters.
Sept., 6, 2011: General Petraeus became CIA director after gaining prominence during the Iraq and Afghanistanwars. General Petraeus Bio--General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the Multi-National Force-Iraq on February 10th, 2007, following his assignment as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth. Prior to assuming command at Ft. Leavenworth, he was the first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, which he led from June 2004 to September 2005, and the NATO Training Mission- Iraq, which he commanded from October 2004 to September 2005. That deployment to Iraq followed his command of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), during which he led the “Screaming Eagles” in combat throughout the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His command of the 101st followed a year deployed on Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia, where he was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the NATO Stabilization Force and the Deputy Commander of the US Joint Interagency Counter-Terrorism Task Force-Bosnia. Prior to his tour in Bosnia, he spent two years at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, serving first as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations of the 82nd Airborne Division and then as the Chief of Staff of XVIII Airborne Corps.
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta revealed the Pentagon was investigating possibly inappropriate emails exchanged between Gen. John Allen and Jill Kelley, the same woman who had received the harassing emails from Paula Broadwell.
Last week, Clapper advised Petraeus to resign and notified the White House of his conversation.
October 2012: After receiving a tip about the probe into the Petraeus-Broadwell affair on Oct. 27, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor tells FBI Director Robert Mueller’s chief of staff, Aaron Zebley, about the investigation on Oct. 31.
Summer 2012: The FBI learned that Broadwell had sent the emails to Kelley and also found emails sent by Broadwell and Petraeus that revealed their affair, which they ended in July.
Fall 2012: The FBI interviewed both Broadwell and Petraeus, who admitted to the affair. Because it was determined to be a private issue and not a national security concern or criminal matter, congressional intelligence committees weren’t notified of the investigation.
Jill Kelley hired Judy Smith, a high-profile crisis management PR consultant known as “The Fixer,” to help manage the crisis. According to the Washington Post, her clients include:
She’s so well known that ABC’s show “Scandal” is based around her life as a PR crisis manager in DC.
Paula Broadwell: Petraeus’ former mistress
November 2011: Petraeus began an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. According to the Washington Post, she had been a Harvard University researcher when she first began working with Petraeus in 2009 and had never written a book.
Broadwell is married to Scott Broadwell, and they are parents to two young sons.
November 2011: Petraeus began an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. According to the Washington Post, she had been a Harvard University researcher when she first began working with Petraeus in 2009 and had never written a book.
Broadwell is married to Scott Broadwell, and they are parents to two young sons.