Now, Gen. John Allen to be probed in 'Petraeus sex scandal' over sending thousand-page emails to 'other woman'
Washington, Nov. 13 (ANI)
In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is now under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Petraeus' lover, Paula Broadwell, the Pentagon has said.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has reportedly ordered a Pentagon investigation of Allen on starting next week.
An US official on the case said over 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents from Allen's communications with Jill Kelley between 2010 and 2012 are under review.
He, however, would not say whether they involved sexual matters or whether they are thought to include unauthorized disclosures of classified information, and said he did not know whether Petraeus is mentioned in the emails, the Los Angeles Times reports.
"Gen. Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter," the official said. He said Allen currently is in Washington.
According to the paper, Panetta said that while the matter is being investigated by the Defense Department Inspector General, Allen will remain in his post as commander of the International Security Assistance Force, based in Kabul.
News of the affair, which broke last week when Petraeus resigned his post as CIA director, has sent shockwaves through Washington, with some raising questions about the level of access granted to Broadwell when she was embedded in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011, when Petraeus led American forces in that country.