This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/us/pentagon-clears-general-allen-over-e-mails-with-socialite.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Pentagon Clears Commander Over E-Mails With Socialite Pentagon Clears Commander Over E-Mails
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — A Defense Department inquiry into potentially inappropriate e-mails between the American commander in Afghanistan and a socialite in Tampa, Fla., has cleared the officer, Gen. John R. Allen, of wrongdoing, senior officials disclosed Tuesday. WASHINGTON — A Defense Department inquiry into potentially inappropriate e-mails between Gen. John R. Allen, the American commander in Afghanistan, and a socialite in Tampa, Fla., has cleared him of wrongdoing, senior Pentagon officials disclosed Tuesday.
The Pentagon inspector general wrote to General Allen that the investigation had found no improprieties in the e-mail communications with the socialite, Jill Kelley, officials said. The Pentagon inspector general wrote to General Allen in Kabul to inform him that the investigation had found no improprieties in the e-mail communications with the socialite, Jill Kelley, officials said.
The communications were discovered during an F.B.I. investigation into anonymous e-mails to Ms. Kelley warning her to stay away from David H. Petraeus, then the C.I.A. director. The F.B.I. found that the e-mails had been sent by Paula Broadwell, Mr. Petraeus’s biographer; he admitted to having had an affair with Ms. Broadwell and resigned his position on Nov. 9. General Allen maintained all along that he had done nothing wrong, and his supporters said the e-mails had neither violated security nor represented an improper relationship with Ms. Kelley, who frequently hosted social events for senior officers assigned to the military’s Central Command headquarters in Tampa.
Like General Allen, Mr. Petraeus, a retired four-star general, was a social acquaintance of Ms. Kelley’s when he was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, headquarters of Central Command. But the number of e-mails, and what some feared was inappropriate tone or language in the messages, prompted the Pentagon’s top lawyer to recommend that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta refer the matter to the inspector general.
Even before Tuesday’s disclosure, the outcome of the inspector general’s inquiry was not unexpected. The decision was first reported on the Web site of The Washington Post. Pentagon officials were no doubt cognizant of the context in which the e-mails had been uncovered — as part of the discovery of an extramarital affair that ended the public career of David H. Petraeus, a retired four-star general who was then in charge of the C.I.A.
What remains unknown is the fate of General Allen’s nomination to become the top NATO commander, as was planned before the disclosure of the e-mails. General Allen could be nominated to that position or another senior post, or he could retire. Late Tuesday, George Little, the Pentagon press secretary, released a statement confirming that Mr. Panetta had been officially informed that the inspector general closed the investigation into General Allen.
“The secretary was pleased to learn that allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated by the investigation,” Mr. Little said. “The secretary has complete confidence in the continued leadership of General Allen, who is serving with distinction in Afghanistan.”
The inquiry was seen as a significant burden on General Allen as he ended his tenure in Afghanistan with the charge to begin drafting proposals for President Obama on how to draw down American forces there this year and end the combat mission by the end of 2014.
Although the exact content of the e-mails remains unknown, an official conclusion of no wrongdoing will no doubt be seen as a professional and personal exoneration for General Allen after an embarrassing period near the end of a highly respected Marine Corps career.
The F.B.I. discovered the e-mails during an investigation into anonymous e-mails to Ms. Kelley. Those messages, which warned her to stay away from Mr. Petraeus, had been sent by Paula Broadwell, Mr. Petraeus’s biographer. Mr. Petraeus admitted to having had an affair with Ms. Broadwell and resigned from the C.I.A. on Nov. 9. The F.B.I. sent the e-mails between General Allen and Ms. Kelley to the Pentagon on Nov. 11.
Like General Allen, Mr. Petraeus was a social acquaintance of Ms. Kelley’s when he was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, the headquarters of Central Command.
The inspector general’s finding, which was not wholly unexpected, was first reported Tuesday on the Web site of The Washington Post.
What remains unknown is the fate of General Allen’s nomination to become the top NATO commander, which was planned before the disclosure of the e-mails. He could be nominated to that position or to another senior post — or he could retire.
“The final decision has not yet been made on General Allen’s nomination,” one senior official said.“The final decision has not yet been made on General Allen’s nomination,” one senior official said.
During the inquiry, about 15 investigators on the Pentagon inspector general’s staff focused on 60 to 70 e-mails that “bear a fair amount of scrutiny,” according to an official who was briefed on the inquiry. During the inquiry, about 15 investigators on the Pentagon inspector general’s staff focused on 60 to 70 e-mails that “bear a fair amount of scrutiny,” said one official who was briefed on the inquiry.
Pentagon officials described the voluminous correspondence between General Allen and Ms. Kelley as potentially “inappropriate communication.” Law enforcement officials say the e-mails number in the hundreds and cover two and a half years starting in 2010, when General Allen was the deputy commander of Central Command. Pentagon officials had described the messages between General Allen and Ms. Kelley as potentially “inappropriate communication.” Law enforcement officials said the e-mails numbered in the hundreds and covered two and a half years starting in 2010, when General Allen was the deputy commander of Central Command.
The F.B.I. sent the e-mails between General Allen and Ms. Kelley to the Pentagon on Nov. 11. The inspector general’s inquiry looked into whether the e-mails violated Defense Department policy, government regulations or military law. The questions included whether the e-mails contained inappropriate language that was on a government computer, whether they indicated an inappropriate relationship as defined under military law, whether they involved more than an incidental use of government property for personal matters and whether there were security breaches.
Investigators had been trying to determine whether the e-mails violated Defense Department policy, government regulations or military law. At issue was whether the e-mails contained inappropriate language on a government computer, whether they indicated an inappropriate relationship as defined under military law, whether they involved more than an incidental use of government property for personal matters and whether there were security breaches. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. has been confirmed by the Senate to succeed General Allen as part of a standard rotation and is expected to take up the senior command position in Kabul in the coming weeks.
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. has been confirmed to succeed General Allen as part of a standard rotation, and is expected to take up command in Kabul in the coming weeks.