Jill Kelley sues FBI for defamation in Petraeus sex scandal
Jill Kelley, the Tampa woman who became entangled in the David Petraeus sex scandal last year, is filing a lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Defensefor leaking her name and what she says was false, defamatory information about her during the investigation.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that FBI director Robert S. Mueller and unnamed officials with the Department of Defense unlawfully dragged Kelley and her husband into the former CIA director's scandal when they went to authorities about cyberstalking and threats. Revealing her name and details about the emails made Kelley "an object of ridicule, moral opprobrium, scorn, and derision, causing her shame, public notoriety, egregious loss of privacy and security," the 65-page complaint alleges.
"Today is an unforgettable day because one year ago threatening emails shook my life, and ultimately changed our country's leadership," Kelley said in a statement.
"This ill-fated day one year ago has made me an advocate for privacy rights for every American," she continued.
Law enforcement officials said they stumbled across Petraeus' extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, when Kelley, a socialite well-connected to military circles in Florida, complained to the agency about harassing messages she was getting from Broadwell.
The media also suggested that Kelley and top U.S. commander Gen. John Allen exchangedpotentially embarrassing emails.
Petraeus, who retired as a four-star general before being named by President Obama to head the CIA in 2011, resigned from his post last November, citing the affair.
The Department of Defense dropped the cyberstalking investigation against Broadwell in December.