Jill Kelley, the Florida socialite who received threatening emails that exposed former CIA Director David Petraeus\u2019 affair, has filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Defense Department for leaking and defaming her name.<\/p>\n
\n The lawsuit has thrust the woman back into the spotlight one year
\n after she received threatening emails that were eventually linked
\n to Petraeus\u2019 biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell.\n<\/p>\n
\n The 65-page lawsuit filed this week in US District Court in
\n Washington alleges that Kelley and her husband were dragged into
\n the sex scandal for revealing cyberstalking threats attributed to
\n Broadwell. According to the plaintiffs, Kelley was subsequently
\n made into \u201can object of ridicule, morale opprobrium, scorn and
\n derision, causing her shame, public notoriety, egregious loss of
\n privacy and security.\u201d<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\n While investigating the Petraeus scandal, the Pentagon last year
\n discovered emails between Gen. John Allen and Kelley,
\n correspondence largely reported to the media as \u201cflirtatious,\u201d
\n raising suspicions that the two had also engaged in a separate
\n affair. In January, the Defense Department determined that Gen.
\n Allen did not have an inappropriate relationship with Kelley, but
\n at that point the woman said her reputation had already suffered
\n and her name had been defamed.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cToday is an unforgettable day because one year ago \n \u201cIt was under the faithful direction of our concerned military \n The complaint argues that authorities should have kept her name \n Since the Petraeus scandal, Kelley has labeled herself as a \n \u201cOur government can and should do better than intrude on the \n But rather than shield her name from public ridicule, filing the \n \u201cI think the public views her as an opportunist and I think \n \u201cShe filed a lawsuit on the anniversary and she released a \n Kelley and her husband are seeking a public apology, attorney\u2019s
\n threatening emails shook my life, and ultimately changed our
\n country\u2019s leadership<\/i>,\u201d Kelley wrote in a statement released
\n by her publicist on Monday<\/span>.\n<\/p>\n
\n leaders, that I went to the law enforcement to seek the proper
\n protection for my family, our commanders and top US officials.
\n But unfortunately, we did not receive the confidentiality and
\n protection. Instead we received highly hurtful and damaging
\n publicity from willful leaks from high level government officials
\n that were false and defamatory<\/i>,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n
\n confidential after she reported the emails, since she was a
\n \u2018victim\u2019 of harassment and therefore should have had the right to
\n privacy.\n<\/p>\n
\n privacy advocate and has written about her support for reform in
\n a Washington Post op-ed published in January. In a statement
\n released by her publicist on Monday, she said that she hopes her
\n lawsuit will strengthen privacy procedures for future law
\n enforcement investigations.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n privacy and dignity of citizens like my family and yours, and our
\n public officials should treat our personal lives with the respect
\n that our<\/i> Constitution, laws like the Privacy Act and
\n standards of common decency require,\u201d she wrote. \u201cUntil our
\n privacy laws and practices truly give us both privacy and
\n protection, I\u2019ll continue to advocate for reform, so others don\u2019t
\n go through the challenges my friends and family endured.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n lawsuit has to some extent already had the opposite effect, and
\n Kelley\u2019s name has been thrust back into the spotlight. Tampa Bay
\n publicist Glen Selig told ABC News that the lawsuit is likely to
\n shed further negative light on the socialite.\n<\/p>\n
\n this lawsuit will reinforce that belief<\/i>,\u201d Selig told the
\n station, explaining that it is unlikely that Americans will
\n perceive Kelley as the victim in this case.\n<\/p>\n
\n statement through a publicist<\/i>,\u201d he added. \u201cIt seems to me
\n she wants attention<\/i>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n fees, monetary compensation and a declaration that the FBI
\n violated the Stored Communications Act.\n<\/p>\n