A Tampa woman whose name surfaced in the scandal involving
the former CIA director David Petraeus has sued the FBI, the defence department
and unidentified government officials, alleging they defamed her and violated
her rights.
In a 65-page complaint filed in the US district court in
Washington, the Tampa socialite Jill Kelley and her husband, Scott, said
government officials had wilfully leaked damaging and false information about
the pair to the media.
News outlets suggested that Kelley and General John Allen,
the former commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, had exchanged
embarrassing personal emails.
The legal action said Kelley had been subjected to public
"ridicule, moral opprobrium, scorn and derision", and asked the court
to order government agencies and officials to apologise formally to the Kelleys
and to award them damages. No figure was mentioned.
Kelley's name surfaced a few days after the retired US army
general Petraeus left the CIA in November over an affair with his biographer, Paula
Broadwell.
Kelley had complained to the FBI that she had received
anonymous, harassing emails from someone about Petraeus's affair.
The FBI opened an investigation, which eventually led to the
uncovering of Petraeus's extramarital relationship with Broadwell and to the
publication of allegations about Kelley and Allen.
Kelley denied any inappropriate relationship with Allen, who
subsequently withdrew his nomination to become commander of Nato forces in
Europe and retired from military service, even though a Pentagon investigation
cleared him of wrongdoing in his dealings with Kelley.
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