Petraeus Affair: Tampa Woman Pursued Close Ties to Top Military Officials

Well the twists just keep on coming in the scandal that led cia director david petraeus to step down. And today there was a stunning new turn that now the top general in afghanistan is feeling the... See More

Well the twists just keep on coming in the scandal that led cia director david petraeus to step down. And today there was a stunning new turn that now the top general in afghanistan is feeling the unwelcome glare of the spotlight. At the center of it all, a tampa socialite named jill kelly. And abc's brian ross has set out to discover who this woman really its who has helped unravel the careers of one of the most powerful men in america. Reporter: Her destrakttractors are harsh saying she is a social climbing bored socialite. In the course of only a few days two of the most powerful men in america have been surrounded by scandal because of action she's has taken. Sending shock waves all the way to the white house. Well I certainly, k, wouldn't call it welcome. Reporter: First it was cia director david petraeus. And now it is general john allen, running the war in afghanistan. Togeth together, a devastating blow to a country at war. Anything that takes your eye off the ball is a distraction. And it will have some affect. Reporter: Officials say it started early this summer when kelly received anonymous e-mails accusing her of flaunting a friendly relationship with military brass in tampa. She called the fbi, which traced those e-mails back to the computer of paula broadwell, where they discovered the evidence of broadwell's affair with petraeus. Broadwell seen at her brother's home in washington sipping wine and having dinner has the admitted her affair with petraeus but has not commented on e-mails she allegedly sent to the other woman, jill kelly. There is more, abc news learned that general allen received an anonymous e-mail traced to broadwell, claiming jill kelly was a seductress. A further look, 20,000,0 to 30,000 pages of communication. Secretary of defense leon panetta put general allen's promotion to supreme commander on hold and ordered an investigation. To date secretary directed the matter -- Reporter: Jill kelly spent the day at her home in tampa not answering questions. In the background, a tell vgs could be seen with coverage of the peyton place like military scandal that focus add tension on who she is and how she ended up in the middle of it all. The license plate on kelly's mercedes-benz, shows she is honorary counsel for south korea. In phone calls, kelly told the dispatcher she deserved protection from the media outside. I am an honorary consul general, they should not be able to profit, I don't know if you want to get diplomatic protect tgs involved -- protection involved. Kelly lives near the air force base, home of central command and special operations command, a place where access is closely guarded. Yet she had easy access to the country' powerful general stationed there. According to a friend, who is also editor of the tampa bay magazine. Jill is known a gracious hostess, a vivacious individual. Reporter: This picture taken two years ago at a party at the kelly home, showing jill's twin sister, natalie, gener petraell's husbascott, jill and the general's wife, holly. There is no question they were friends. And no reason why they wouldn't be friends. Reporter: Despite all her lavish entertaining, court documents reviewed by abc news show that jill kelly and her husband have been sued at least nine times and face foreclosure on their home. The kelly home also served as the office for a charity she and her husband, a doctor once set up for cancer victims, which spent tens of thousand of dollars on travel, meals and entertainment. Kelly's twin sister natalie has her own legal and financial problems and lost custody of her son in a contentious divorce proceeding in which petraeus, head of the cia and general allen running the war in afghanistan, wrote letters on her behalf. All of it raised lots of questions about the two generals and their connections to the tampa housewife. But at least in the case of general allen, he has strongly denied anything inappropriate, so far the wte house and his fellow generals say they believe allen. I believe john allen until somebody proves otherwise. I believe that he did nothing inappropriate. Reporter: As for jill kelly while she wasn't talking she wasn't hiding from cameras outside her house. Her brother told us she has nothing to hide. Shy is very dedicated to her husband and her kids. For anybody to paint her other than that is completely wrong. Even soap, jill kelly has now hired one of washington's top criminal defense lawyers, abby lowell, who defended former senator john edward and she even has a publicist. The same one who handled the media for former white house intern monica lewinsky.