Petraeus case: Cast of characters

The former CIA director resigned on Nov. 9, citing an extramarital affair in a statement and saying he used "extremely poor judgment." Multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News that FBI agents investigating a possible cyber-harassment case in Florida traced the emails to Paula Broadwell, Petraeus’ biographer. In the course of the investigation, the agents also discovered emails between Petraeus and Broadwell that were indicative of an extramarital affair, they said.

The commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan is under investigation over allegations he exchanged “inappropriate” emails with Jill Kelley, the Tampa, Fla., woman who sparked the investigation of CIA Director David Petraeus by complaining to the FBI about a series of anonymous harassing emails she received. In the meantime, his nomination to take over as head of U.S. forces in Europe and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, has been put on hold.

General Allen denies any misconduct.

The Charlotte, N.C., resident is former CIA director David Petraeus’ biographer. While researching her book, “All In,” Broadwell had extensive access to Petraeus in Afghanistan. FBI agents in Florida investigating a series of anonymous “menacing” emails sent to Jill Kelley of Tampa traced them to Broadwell. During the course of the investigation agents uncovered her extramarital affair with Petraeus, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.

The Tampa, Fla., wife and a mother of three daughters has acted as a volunteer social liaison to officials at nearby MacDill Air Force Base. Kelley and her husband are close friends of David Petraeus and his wife, Holly.

Kelley inadvertently launched an investigation that led to Patraeus' resignation. Officials say she complained to the FBI in June about receiving harassing emails which were ultimately traced to Paula Broadwell.

The Secretary of Defense and former CIA director announced the investigation of Gen. John Allen, commander of international forces in Afghanistan, during a flight to Australia on Nov. 12. In a statement, Panetta said that the FBI had referred “a matter involving" Allen to the Department of Defense. He provided no details, but a Defense Department official traveling with him said it involved “inappropriate” emails Allen allegedly exchanged with Jill Kelley of Tampa, Fla.

The House majority leader and a U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 7th congressional district spoke on Oct. 27 with an FBI agent in Florida who raised concerns that "sensitive information" relating to CIA Director David Petraeus was being covered up or not taken seriously. Cantor later called the FBI and informed an official there about the conversation. "I was contacted by an FBI employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain (FBI Director Robert) Mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security,” Cantor said in a statement.

The senior U.S. senator from California and chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says she will seek testimony from former CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned Friday as CIA director after acknowledging an extramarital affair, about the September attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead.

When Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus, reported she had received anonymous harassing emails in June, she went to an FBI agent she already knew. That agent, Frederick Humphries II, referred the complaint to the bureau’s cyber investigation unit, which later traced them to Paula Broadwell, CIA Director David Petraeus’ biographer. Numerous news accounts indicated that Humphries was removed from the case after inappropriate behavior, including sending a shirtless photo of himself to Kelley, but a senior law enforcement official tells NBC News that the photo was sent "as a joke, a gag" at least six months before Kelley reported the emails and that the agent was never involved in the investigation.

Natalie Khawam, far left, is the twin sister of Jill Kelley, second from right, the Tampa, Fla., socialite who inadvertently triggered the investigation into David Petraeus by complaining about a series of harassing emails she had received to an FBI agent with whom she was acquainted. Khawam lived with Kelley and her husband, Scott, after her divorce, becoming acquainted with Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, at soirees hosted by her sister. Both Petraeus and Allen wrote letters on behalf of Khawam in September, in the midst of a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband. The Washington, D.C., judge hearing the case later criticized Khawam, saying in one ruling that she had “severe personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity.”
Left to right, Natalia Khawam, Gen. David Petraeus, Scott Kelley, Jill Kelley, and Holly Petraeus, at the Gasparilla parade on Jan. 30, 2010 in Tampa Bay, Fl.

•As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen intervened in nasty child custody battle.