Jill Kelley, the Tampa socialite at the center of the David Petraeus scandal, is trying to change the narrative about her involvement with the general and the military.
Kelley hired a top Washington attorney and is opening up for the first time about her past and her role as an “honorary consul” to the country of South Korea.
Tuesday, Abbe Lowell released emails, phone recordings and other material that he and Jill Kelley say proves she never tried to exploit her friendship with Petraeus.
Lowell also demanded the U.S. Attorney’s office reveal Jill Kelley’s name was revealed during the FBI’s investigation of Petraeus and his mistress, Paula Broadwell.
Officials said they were led to Kelley because Paula Broadwell sent her threatening messages, anonymously and via email, to stay away from Petraeus.
Kelley allegedly contacted a friend at the FBI, which started digging and uncovered Petraeus’ affair, leading to his resignation as head of the CIA.
Lowell addressed this in a letter to W. Stephen Muldrow, the Assistant U.S. Attorney in Tampa:
“You no doubt have seen the tremendous attention that the Kelleys have received in the media.”
“All they did to receive this attention was to let law enforcement know that they had been the subjects of inappropriate and potentially threatening behavior by someone else.”
Lowell added that federal privacy laws could be applicable to the couple’s information:
“These leaks most certainly had to come, at least in part, from government sources.”
“The [best] example of the leaks would be the release to the media of the names of my clients … there are several rules and laws that seek to protect U.S. citizens against such leaks.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa did not return telephone calls for comment.
Kelley, a 37-year-old mother of three, became a media sensation this month.
She and her husband, cancer surgeon Scott Kelley, befriended Petraeus and Gen. John Allen when the generals served at U.S. Central Command, based in Tampa.
Kelley became an unofficial social ambassador for the base. She was well known around Tampa’s social scene and often hosted parties at her waterfront mansion.
When the FBI investigated Broadwell’s emails to Kelley, they also discovered numerous emails between Kelley and the generals, raising suspicion if not red flags.
The Pentagon is investigating emails between her and Allen. Some have called a few of the emails between the two “flirtatious,” but Kelley sources say they were not.
The scandal this week cost Kelley her appointment as an honorary consul for the South Korean government, which she got because of her friendship with Petraeus.
The Koreans said she misused the title and the perceived power it came with.
Follow the link to continue reading about her dubious business dealings …