Petraeus’ lover, Paula Broadwell, will not be charged over scandal
A complaint by a friend of the Petraeus family, Jill Kelley, that she was receiving harassing emails would eventually lead FBI investigators to correspondence between David Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, that revealed they had had an affair. This picture shows them together in July 2011.
After a six-week investigation, the Justice Department says Paula Broadwell, the former mistress of General David Petraeus, will not be charged over allegations of cyberstalking.
Broadwell's lawyer, Robert Muse, gave The Associated Press a letter from US Attorney Robert O'Neill, which states no federal charges will be brought in Florida related to "alleged acts of cyberstalking."
The FBI began investigating so-called threatening and anonymous emails received by Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, warning her to stay away from Petraeus.
It led the FBI to Broadwell and exposed a long-running affair she had been having with Petraeus, who subsequently resigned as CIA director.
More from GlobalPost: Petraeus emails revealed: Jealous Paula Broadwell accused love rival of touching her man under the table
In the emails, a jealous Broadwell accused Kelley of touching her lover provocatively under the table at a dinner, it was reported.
But Broadwell made no "overt threats" and the FBI was initially unsure whether it warranted a full investigation, a source told media at the time.
The source described the emails as "kind of cat-fight stuff".
“More like, ‘Who do you think you are? … You parade around the base … You need to take it down a notch."
The Justice Department declined to comment Tuesday on the investigation.
The story you just read is not locked behind a paywall because listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World. Can we count on you?