Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Media, Military, Politics, Torts

Jill Kelley Claims “Honorary” Diplomatic Status In Latest Twist In Petraeus Scandal

Last night, while discussing the Petraeus scandal on CNN, the network played a 911 call from one of the four major figures in the scandal: Jill Kelley. The call is perfectly bizarre in which Kelley, a Florida socialite, claims “honorary diplomatic” status to get the police to stop people from walking across her lawn. The dispatcher listens patiently and appears to resist the temptation to tell her that he will be sending over some honorary police to protect their honorary diplomatic residence.

Kelley is the woman who went to a friend in the FBI to complain about threatening emails from an anonymous source — emails that led the FBI to Paula Broadwell and ultimately Gen. David Petraeus. She and the agent are a rather odd couple. He sent her shirtless pictures of himself and was eventually removed from involvement in the case. She is described as a “nice, bored, rich socialite” who volunteered with the military as a self-described “social liaison” and cultivated relationships with generals. This included a questionable relationship with Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, involving a remarkable number of emails described by some sources as a bit raunchy and “like phone sex.”

Just when you thought the scandal could not get more weird, it did. Last night, we heard this 911 call for “diplomatic protection:”

“Thank you and you know, um, I don’t know, but by any chance because I’m an honorary council general, so I have inviolability so I should… they should not be able to (cross) this property, I don’t know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well.

Kelley has been described as invoking her diplomatic status previously. She was given the unpaid title of “honorary ambassador” to CENTCOM, the Department of Defense Central Command. This gives her about the same diplomatic status as the hostess at an International House of Pancakes.

What is strange is that she is protected by the non-honorary title of a citizen of Tampa from trespass. She is allowed to demand the removal of people from her property so long as it is not a public space or a private space with a form of constructive easement.

She might want to stick with the Tampa title because “Honorary ambassador” does not fit neatly into the the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961). However, if she wishes to claim to be an honorary diplomat, it would allow Tampa to declare her persona non grata but it is not clear what country she would be expelled to since she is claiming diplomatic immunity in her own country. It might be just easier to get a “No Trespass” sign at Home Depot.

284 thoughts on “Jill Kelley Claims “Honorary” Diplomatic Status In Latest Twist In Petraeus Scandal”

  3. ap,

    Several comments on that thread that could have been lifted right out and slotted in here … there was even talk about small planes crashing

  4. Gene and Blouise, Blouise and Gene,

    lol, but…

    there are any number of appropriate threads for those two videos…

    http://jonathanturley.org/?s=poison

    (I was headed to YouTube for a third vid and accidentally searched JT’s blog… Too much coffee… or something…)

  7. Good, old-fashioned community outreach…

    Excerpts:

    Socialite Jill Kelley skydived with commandos

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/14/jill-kelley-911call-david-petraeus-diplomatic-protection-tampa/1703995/

    Excerpts:

    1:23AM EST November 16. 2012 – TAMPA — Among the perks socialite Jill Kelley received as a “friend” of MacDill Air Force Base was a parachute jump with an elite Special Operations Command team.

    Kelley went skydiving with the Para Commandos on Oct. 29, 2010, said Col. Tim Nye, a spokesman for the Special Operations Command, which directs the Navy SEALS and other units. The jump — done in tandem with an experienced skydiver — was part of a community outreach program to local celebrities, athletes and the media.

    …

    Unless a person held the rank of general or admiral, they weren’t likely on the guest list, according to one retired senior officer who didn’t want his name published.

    “A colonel is about as low as (Kelley would) go,” said the officer, who served at CENTCOM in Tampa and knows the players in the Petraeus scandal.

    At one party, held on the front lawn adjacent to bustling Bayshore Boulevard, foreign officers outnumbered U.S. military about 10 to 1 as they mingled with the mayor and other local dignitaries, he said. There was a band, speakers and cocktails. The French and Italian officers seemed to enjoy themselves, he said.

    “The opportunity to rub shoulders just doesn’t happen on the base,” he said.

    …

    “They are a lovely couple,” said Aaron Fodiman, publisher of the glossy Tampa Bay Magazine, who has socialized with the Kelleys and attended parties at their home. “We are in shock over this. It’s insane. Bizarre.”

    He says the city’s social and charitable doors are open to anyone who comes “with a sincere desire to help.”

    “If you’re famous enough, rich enough or charming enough, everybody wants you,” he said. “The Kelleys are charming. They are nice. They live in a $1.5 million house on the most prestigious street. They go to the events. They donate. Why wouldn’t people want to have them at a party?”

    About six months ago, Jill Kelley became a volunteer for the International Council of the Tampa Bay Region, President Gary Springer said. She was introduced to the group by another volunteer, he said.

    The council, one of 92 around the United States, partners with the State Department to coordinate professional exchanges with visitors from other countries as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, Springer said.

    Young and mid-career professionals and leaders spend three weeks in the United States “to basically have encounters with Americans to see how we live, work, learn and play,” Springer said. “Many have never had any contact with Americans at all. It’s part of the public diplomacy program of the United States.”

    The council in the Tampa Bay region manages hundreds of volunteers in nine counties, he said. The volunteers help host professional programming, cultural activities, social outings and home hospitality, he said.

    Kelley has hosted “a couple of groups,” Springer said.

    “She’s a delightful host,” he said. “She’s been a wonderful volunteer for the organization.”

  9. A White House aide huh? Not for much longer.

    Any association with this woman is fast becoming career poison.

  10. Jill Kelley, Woman In David Petraeus Scandal with Paula Broadwell, Visited White Hosue
    Written by
    Associated Press
    1:34 PM, Nov 16, 2012
    http://origin.wusa9.com/news/article/229843/158/Woman-in-David-Petraeus-scandal-visited-White-House

    WASHINGTON (AP) – An Obama administration official says a Tampa Bay socialite whose emails triggered the eventual downfall of CIA director David Petraeus visited the White House three times this year with her sister, twice eating in the Executive Mansion mess.

    The official says that Jill Kelley, who initiated an investigation that ultimately unveiled Petraeus’ extramarital affair, and her sister had two “courtesy” meals at the White House mess as guests of a mid-level White House aide. Kelley and her family also received a White House tour. The visits occurred during the past three months.

    The official spoke on condition of anonymity because those visitor records have not yet been made public.

    The official said the White House aide who hosted her met the Kelley family at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa.

  11. Petraeus Switches Up His Story on the Benghazi Attacks
    By Spencer Ackerman
    11.16.12
    1:21 PM
    http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/11/petraeus-benghazi-2/

    Excerpt:
    Former CIA Director David Petraeus knew all along that the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was attacked by al-Qaida-aligned terrorists this past September. Only he wasn’t so certain when he first briefed Congress on the Libyan disaster, just days after it occurred. And even the most Petraeus-friendly legislators find it odd that the former CIA director is retroactively editing his testimony.

    Petraeus emerged from his compounding week-long fall from grace to testify behind closed doors to the House and Senate intelligence committees about what the CIA knew about the hours-long assault as it unfolded. The overarching and highly politicized question hanging over Benghazi is whether the Obama administration misrepresented the disaster by initially pointing to an anti-Islam video as the catalyst, rather than the complex terrorist attack that actually occurred. What’s begun to leak out of the Petraeus hearings is this: the former four-star general and spymaster was convinced from jump that this was the work of terrorists.

    In his Friday testimony. Petraeus claimed “he thought all along that he made it clear there was terrorist involvement,” according to Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.). “That was not my recollection.”

    Nor is it what Petraeus’ old boss was saying at the time. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, publicly explained on Sept. 28 that contemporaneous — and ultimately incorrect — intelligence reporting “led us to assess that the attack began spontaneously following protests earlier that day at our embassy in Cairo,” and “we provided that initial assessment to Executive Branch officials and members of Congress.”

    Confusing matters further, Petraeus indicated to lawmakers that the “talking points” the CIA initially gave to the Obama administration and members of Congress omitted early references to terrorism. Those talking points, published on Thursday by CBS, say that the attack on the consulate was “spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault.” They hold open the possibility that the intelligence picture will change — as, indeed, it did, significantly. Those talking points do not indicate the certainty that Petraeus now says he possessed to attribute the attack to Libyan militant group Ansar al-Sharia.

    According to King, Petraeus couldn’t explain the discrepancy. King said the talking points went through an “interagency” review, but the CIA ultimately “said, ‘Okay for it to go.’”

  14. ap,

    Re the photo. Da*n, you beat me to it. I wonder which one of the three is Humphries.

  17. “Jill and Scott Kelley cultivated politicians as well as generals”

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/article1261848.ece

    Excerpt:

    “The Kelleys didn’t support Buckhorn during his race for mayor, and he said he had never met them. But they reached out to him soon after he was elected in March 2011.

    Three weeks after Buckhorn was sworn in, the couple hosted a cocktail reception for him on the front yard of their home.

    Since then, Jill Kelley has kept in touch with the mayor, often extending social invitations, according to emails released by the city late Thursday.

    Less than a month after the reception in the mayor’s honor, Kelley emailed Buckhorn that she hoped to see him and his wife, Dr. Cathy Lynch Buckhorn, at a dinner party that evening for the King of Jordan.

    “The King and his sister (the Princess) are awesome people!” she wrote a few days later. “Actually your name was brought up by the Generals when they were showing off the party I hosted you! (everyone loved that party)”

    “Especially me,” responded Buckhorn, who said he counts Kelley as an acquaintance.

    He said he has not been able to accept any of Kelley’s invitations since the reception in his honor, but he — along with his wife and police driver — did give her a ride home after a MacDill function when her husband was working late and was unable to meet her.

    “Gen Mattis” — an apparent reference to Marine Gen. James Mattis, who succeeded Petraeus as commander of CentCom — “was so kind to offer, but I realized you two were passing my way,” Jill Kelley wrote to Buckhorn the next day.

    Kelley also messaged the mayor early this year after reports that American personnel in Afghanistan had burned Korans, enraging Muslims.”

    =========

    Kelley’s e-mail to Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn (PDF)

    http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2012/PDFs/KelleyPols111612/kelleybuckhornDOC111512-58.pdf

  18. Elaine,

    Re 11:37am post

    So Rice follows the recommendations of the CIA that is the agency attached to her State Dept. and thus the analysis on which she is supposed to rely only to be attacked by Republicans for doing so.

    Another twist to the licorice stick.

Comments are closed.