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Subscribe to RSSThe 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.
Then-CIA Director David Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, intervened in a Washington, D.C., custody battle in September, writing letters on behalf of a woman who was found by a judge to have "severe personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity."
The woman, Natalie Khawam, is the twin sister of Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, who has emerged as a central figure in the scandal that led to Petraeus’ resignation last week.
The letters, which have been obtained by NBC News, were filed in court on behalf of Khawam, who the judge hearing the case harshly criticized for a “stunning willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own interests.”
At the time, Khawam was seeking to relax a judge's order restricting her visits with her now 4-year-old son. Holly Petraeus, the wife of the ex-CIA director previously signed an affidavit in support of Khawam, according to the lawyer for Grayson Wolfe, Khawam's ex-husband. The letters were first reported by the New York Post.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file
Gen. John Allen, right, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and former CIA Director David Petraeus appear ath the White House on April 28, 2011.
The letters came to light after Kelley emerged as a key player in the scandal surrounding emails that officials say were written by Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell – a trail of correspondence that led to Petraeus’ resignation as CIA director and a Pentagon investigation of Allen over what defense officials have described as “potentially inappropriate” emails he exchanged with Kelley.
The legal battle between Khawam and Wolfe has been bitter, according to court records. Both sides have accused one another of repeatedly lying to the court -- including about invitations to events involving prominent members of Congress.
The court records also shed some light on the lifestyle of the Kelley family: At one point, the judge -- who had directed Kelley's sister to pay child support and the legal fees of her ex-husband -- noted that Khawam lived "rent-free in Florida with her sister" in a home described as a "ten bedroom mansion in a beautiful neighborhood right on Tampa Bay."
The judge also ruled that Jill Kelley was a "patently biased and unbelievable witness" when she testified about an alleged case of domestic abuse by her twin sister's ex-husband.
In a Nov. 9, 2011, ruling, D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz dismissed Kelley's testimony that she saw Wolfe push Khawam down a flight of stairs inside the Kelleys’ home. Kelley testified that her sister was holding the couple's baby in one hand and "somehow was able to stand her ground on the staircase" as Wolfe, "who is substantially larger and stronger ... pushed Ms. Khawam from above with both hands and all of his might."
Read David Petraeus' letter to the court
Read Gen. John Allen's letter to the court
"The court does not credit this testimony," Kravitz wrote, after calling Kelley an "unbelievable witness." He called it "part of an ever-expanding set of sensational accusations against Mr. Wolfe that are so numerous, so extraordinary and ... so distorted that they defy any common sense view of reality."
Amy Scherzer / Tampa Bay Times via Zuma Press
Natalie Khawam, twin sister of Jill Kelley.
Petraeus and Allen entered the case two months ago, penning separate letters attesting to Khawam’s parenting.
"My wife and I have known Natalie for approximately three years, getting to know her while serving in Tampa, Florida, through her friendship with Dr. and Mrs. Scott Kelley," Petraeus wrote in his letter dated Sept. 20, identifying himself under his signature as "General, U.S. Army (Retired.) "
He added that he has observed Khawam with her son on many occasions, "including when we hosted them and the Kelley family for Christmas dinner this past year." It was "clear to me," he added, that Natalie's son "would benefit from much more time with his Mother and from removal of the burdensome restrictions imposed on her."
Allen's letter, dated Sept. 22, which identified him under his signature as "General, United States Marine Corps," is similar. It stated that he had gotten to know Khawam while serving at the U.S. Central Command in Florida and observed her with her son "on multiple occasions" at "command social functions."
"In light of Natalie's maturity, integrity and steadfast commitment to raising her child, I humbly request your reconsideration of the existing mandated custody settlement," the letter concluded.
Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails
A source familiar with Kelley’s views said Tuesday night that both Petraeus and Allen have been friends of Kelley and her sister Khawam for years. The source added: “When you're involved in a custody issue, you want letters of support. There is nothing unusual about that.”
Sandra Wilkof, the lawyer for ex-husband Wolfe, said the letters from both high ranking military men misstated the facts of the case. Both letters asked the court to change the terms of a "court settlement" between the couple. In fact, Wilkof, said, "There was no court settlement. There was a court order," she said, awarding custody to Wolfe and supervised visits for Khawam.
ISAF via Reuters file
Meet the people who have been pulled into the scandal that caused Gen. David Petraeus to resign.
Judge Kravitz has not given Wolfe a free pass. He wrote in the Nov. 9, 2011 ruling that Wolfe "does not possess an entirely healthy psychological make-up.” And he noted that Wolfe had taken “questionable deductions” on his tax returns and “may have been less than fully candid in his testimony about contacts he may have had with the FriendFinder online dating service.”
But he has saved his harshest words for Khawam, writing that “Mr. Wolfe … is much more honest than Ms. Khawam, and he conducts himself with far greater integrity.”
In the ruling, he found that Khawam had taken the couple's son to Florida when he was only four months old and refused to tell Wolfe of his whereabouts, ignored court orders to allow visits with his father, changed the boy's first name without his father's knowledge and made unfounded claims of abuse against her ex-husband.
"The evidence established that Ms. Khawam has extreme personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity," Kravitz wrote. "Ms. Khawam's false domestic violence petitions (and her equally false testimony at trial relating to many of the same allegations) are merely the most stunning examples of Ms. Khawam's willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own personal interests at the expense of Mr. Wolfe, the child, and others."
Khawam's lawyer, Greg Jacob, with the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers, did not respond to requests for comment.
In the latest wrinkle in the case, Wolfe's lawyer filed a motion on Oct. 26 opposing the efforts of Khawam to modify the visitation schedule, saying that neither of the letters by Petraeus and Allen promised “corroborating testimony” relevant to the court's determination.
The motion also argued that Khawam had misrepresented social events she had asked the court to let her attend with her son. In one case, Wolfe's motion stated, Khawam had asked the court to let her take her son to a "family clambake" at "the personal invitation" of Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. In fact, the motion states, this was "nothing more than a … political fundraising event."
On other occasions, the motion states, Khawam had sought to take her son to events with "Senator Kerry" and the baptism of "former Congressman Patrick Kennedy's child" in New Jersey. In fact, the motion states, the invitation to be with Sen. John Kerry was a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee event in Martha's Vineyard and that he denied her request to take the boy to those events because he did not believe it was in "the child's best interests."
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Paula, Dave and the Scruples Playground
I don't see any more here than powerful interesting people getting it on. Read your history book if you don't agree.
a totally unrelated subject, but has too be said....PBS is receiving government funding and know we learn a gay pedophile is a puppeteer for elmo. sesame street is nothing more than a bunch of pedophiles in costumes sexually abusing children and obama and the rest of the liberal democrats are supporting this. stop the funding and investigate sesame street.
This story just gets better and better.
I thought there would be a lot of books written about it.
Now I'm thinking they might make a soap opera.
Internet sex dating sites?
T W I N S ????
F B I agents being hushed.
This thing is snow balling out of control.
Sex - lies - betrayal- spies - politics - blackmail - cover up - one thing is missing.............MONEY
What do think is driving this whole mess, money, i.e. the top 1%!
More Sayanim - it is amazing how far these Jewesses infiltrate on behalf of Mussad, and how dumb our leaders are to allow them to do so. USA needs to quit being the annexed playground of Israel.
"Jewesses"???? What kind of medieval malarky is this? Sounds like something the Nazis or John Birchers would say. There are "Christianessers" and "Christianesses" involved in this soap opera, too.
How could these guys Betraeus?
(snicker)
Hey XIZDU sure we'll call Barry Mr. President just like all you libertards used to call GW President Bush at every chance you got.... right!!! so be glad people just call him obama (small o)....... there are a few ohers
odumbo, obummer, big ears, etc. etc. etc. and yes he did win....... and the country lost thanx to kool aid drinkers like you...... had the mess happened in the Bush administration congress would have asked for his head on a pike and you know it......... besides what's the big deal clinton did his intern under the desk in the oval office and he kept his job........
Why should the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense spend much time worrying about this ?
LOL, don't worry....they're not.
They are both in Australia partying; it was reported that Hillary is "visiting friends" and "wine-tasting"...and Panetta said we have to have "advance warning" to be able to respond to any type of attack..
Really ?.....this country is being led by a bunch of buffoons,we are so screwed.
What does natural selection say about reproduction? Women look for men who will guarantee their off-springs a secure future. As for the men, they work hard in order to be sure that there genes will survive the natural selection schedule. The Alpha ones get the uniforms that do impress the ladies and Voila! The women fall for that and there you go again! Imagine this, if these men had no uniforms or special position in society, with their looks, these women would never have fallen into the trick!
Obama won......and we're screwed....140% voter turnout in St. Lucie County, Fla......109% in Ohio, and 59 divisions in Philly without ONE Romney vote.....ha-ha....America's ONLY chance is that Petraeus is able to live long enough to bring Obama into the Benghazi conversation.
sounds like the begining or an Arkanside
Just hillbillies in nice clothes.
yep, I was looking at all the medals on their uniforms and thinking the same thing.
The more the covers are lifted, the more the whole situation takes on the air of the Barnyard.
Except the amounts at issue--and the demoralizing effect of "leader" hypocrisy on our fighting men and women-- are not chicken feed.
Semper flop!
More bazaar and less my business every day.
Jill struts her stuff:
"Records show that Ms. Kelley and her husband, a doctor, have been subject to a string of lawsuits over debts, according to a report in The Tampa Bay Times, which said the Kelleys owed a bank nearly $2.2 million, including attorney fees, on a building they own. They also ran a cancer charity, which appears to be defunct. A 2007 tax filing, the latest available, shows the charity raised $157,284 that year, but spent just $58,417 on program services, described as conducting research to improve the lives of terminally ill adult cancer patients."
"The couple appeared to be well-regarded***"
New York Times this morning, print A6, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/us/tampa-social-scene-at-center-of-petraeus-scandal.html
Looks like Allen and Pet also have a problem with honesty and integrity
"Well, good evening General, Good evening to you General, yes the ladies are already here. Just drop your keys in the bowl by the front door and enjoy...."
Powerful men and attractive women a combination that has existed throughout history.
All this scandal just in time to take the heat off BO and Benghazi-Petraus was going to testify now may not since has been fire- oh im sorry he stepped down and Hillary is to busy attending a wine tasting event down under. Mean while we still have 4 dead Americans that should not be and no one being held accountable. mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm
We still haven't gotten to the bottom of the 4,000 dead Americans who died in Iraq and who falsified the intelligence to fool Congress into voting for the invasion and fool a sizeable number of really dumb Americans to support it. No one has been held accountable to this day! Same with the bad armor, Blackwater,or the Iraq rebuilding contractors, to name a few scandals. Any questions about Benghazi will have to include questions of funding for security, timing, etc. We all know that the jerks want to blow the Benghazi tragedy into a "scandal" because they want to embarass the president, but that's just cheap and international incidents that cost American lives have been happening for decades. Whole embassies have been bombed, and they even got a marine barracks. We'll see if this has national security implications or is just a soap opera.
What we should be asking is how do these Generals have time to look out for the well-being of their troops when they are apparently spending all of their time writing emails, text messages and letters of reference for all the many socialite types that they obviously know. There needs to be a review of all activities of all Generals, not just these two and their activities need to be brought back in order. Generals should be managing the ongoing war, not acting as Public Relations Directors. I find that there is too much hero-worshipping that goes on toward high ranking military men by the Congress and Presidents and their Administrations. Its unhealthy and it has a lot to do with why the Defense Budgets are often out of control. It also had a lot to do with why it took so long in the early and mid 2000's for the military to properly equip the troops who were in the battlefield of Iraq with proper outfits and vehicles that could withstand the IED's and bullets they were facing. As I recall, the Generals overruled equipment that provided more protections because it was not made by certain companies they had questionable relationships with even though their armor was constantly failing. Someone has to hold these men's feet to the fire and I don't know how congressional oversight committee's can nor Presidents if they start off bowing to these Generals that they are supposed to oversee.
If it walks looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's a duck..
When is the last time anyone in this chat room hung out with 5 star generals consistently?
Their was some weird sex thing going on...it will all come out...
This mess is like a damn soap opera, but unfortunately, it's all too real!...w/ multiple persons involved, and most of them have lied extensively numerous times!! I think there is a whole lot more that needs to be uncovered, and I think in the end, they will find out that there is more sleezy sexual interludes between said persons. It's almost cult- like (waco texas), how these occurences seemingly happen between these persons near military bases and by higher end persons in well to do neighborhoods. Hopefully they will uncover this whole thing relatively soon, so that all invoved can move forward, but I highly doubt it...it will drag on for some time to come! Sounds to me like a version of wife swapping meets the Desperate Housewives(one big orgy) Time will tell!
All you nay sayers who poo poo this story are gonna have to eat crow if it really turns out to be something more than just an extramarital affair that got found out. People are concerned that there is a cover up because 4 Americans lost their lives. Stories are swirling...different stories that don't jive. Instead of disregarding them, ponder them, do some investigating yourself. See what reports jive and make sense. Be a champion of truth, honesty and integrity....if not, don't hinder those that do.
it's more than just an illicit affair....it's funny that people don't care to get to the bottom of a cover up.
No funnier than people who read "cover-up" into everything with a total of zero proof! Don't worry, Petraus will testify, likely in front of the intelligence committee. You, however, will likely still not be satisfied as he is expected to testify the information he found supports the White House's version of events. Nothing will satisfy those always living under the umbrella of conspiracy!
Many questions to be answered, but the biggest question thus far should be "Who gives a rat's?"
Is he the first to have an affair? At least he is owning it and obviously taking responsibility so are we going to run this in the ground? Didn't Clinton disgrace the Oval Office with his female friend denying it??????? Wake Up! America as he isn't the first and chances are will not be the last so lets move forward.....
Martha Guzman - If Walls Could Talk - they might tell you about Poppy Bush's longtime affair with Jennifer Fitzgerald
I guess he must have disgraced the Oval Office - except the Republicans Covered his Butt
I met Linda Tripp at a party in Middleburg, VA - she had an office down the hall from Poppy and saw all - very interesting conversation we had - it took her years to settle her severance pay - wonder why?
Martha,
He only owned up to it when he was called on it and was advised by the National Security Director, his boss, that he should resign.
George W. is the person who started the wars that gave these Generals the opportunity to gain power so everything goes back to George W. and the disaster of his wars. Obama's greatest mistakes have been continuing George W. policies and allowing George W. appointees to remain in positions of leadership. Any that George W. has been associated with is tainted in some way or other. Obama should have got rid of them all and began an end to George W, policies on Day 1 but he was too much of a conservative to do this.
I would like to know why Eric Cantor stayed quiet, since he knew everything two weeks before the election. Do you think that Eric Cantor might have known Broadwell, or one of her friends in Washington?
GWB this and GWB that... how many years are people going to keep using that excuse? 4 more years maybe?
Actually it goes back to the first guy named George,as in "George Washington". Ever since then it is a favorite name for Presidents kids :)