| Oh good grief. Do we have any federal law enforcement agency that can behave itself? |
The federal agent who launched the investigation that eventually led to the resignation of CIA director David Petraeus was taken off the case during the summer over concerns that he "might have grown obsessed with the matter," The Wall Street Journal reports.
The FBI agent began the inquiry on behalf of a friend, Jill Kelley, who reportedly received about a half a dozen hostile emails from Petraeus' mistress Paula Broadwell.
The agent referred the matter to a cyber crimes unit but was prohibited from the any role in the investigation after the FBI found out that he sent shirtless photos of himself to Kelley, people familiar with the probe told The WSJ.
After being barred from the case, the agent contacted representative David Reichert (R-Wash.) out of concern that senior FBI officials were going to "sweep the matter under the rug," according to two officials familiar with the matter.
The WSJ also provides details about the emails sent from Broadwell to Kelley:
Ms. Broadwell allegedly used a variety of email addresses to send the harassing messages to Ms. Kelley, officials said. One asked if Ms. Kelley's husband was aware of her actions, according to officials. In another, the anonymous writer claimed to have watched Ms. Kelley touching "him'' provocatively underneath a table, the officials said.
The new developments raise questions about how the FBI handled the case, The WSJ notes. |