Details emerge over Jill Kelley’s FBI complaint

>>> good evening, the woman who started it all, the investigation into a chain of e-mails that led to the resignation of the cia director , former four- star general , david petraeus , is tonight telling more of her side of the story through a surrogate. for the first time we're learning why she says she felt the need to approach the fbi and ask them to investigate the communications she was receiving. jill kelley of tampa, florida, is now a big part of the story involving several big names. tonight, she is clearly attempting to clear her own. we begin here tonight in the studio with nbc's andrea mitchell , good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, brian, tonight, new details emerged on how the anonymous e-mails that paula broadwell sent to a tampa woman, who knew two four-star generals, david petraeus , and john allen , set off a chain of events, even as the president spoke for the first time about the scandal at his news conference, the president went out of his way to praise petraeus.

>> he has provided this country an extraordinary service. we are safer because of the work that david petraeus has done.

>> reporter: as paula broadwell remained in washington and staying with her brother and still not talking, officials say the investigation was triggered in may, when general john allen received an e-mail called " kelley patrol." sources say they warned the general to stay away from her, that she could ruin them, e-mails that were forwarded to her on the account she shares with her husband, scott, thinking she sent it at a joke to kelley said she told general allen she had not sent the e-mail but was concerned she was stalked or she never realized the impact the e-mails would have. the people close to the kelleys say jill kelley never had an affair with general allen , and the pentagon has found no evidence to the contrary, but sources say there is enough evidence to warrant an investigation. she turned over all the e-mails, including to general allen , never recognizing the impact they would have kelleys say jill kelley never had an affair with general allen , the sources say she never had an affair, but the sources say the e-mails had enough of an appropriate situation to warrant an investigation is enough evidence to warrant an investigation.

>> general allen is doing an excellent job leading the forces. he is doing an excellent job and has my confidence to lead the fight, also, the fbi is looking into documents they found from the home, today, the pentagon suspended broadwell 's security clearances, and the air force base revoked jill kelley 's pass to the base, tonight, they issued a statement that general allen intends to fully cooperate with investigators and wants to resolve questions about the e-mails quickly. pentagon officials say that general allen is still running the war in afghanistan , but acknowledged that the controversy alone could doom his possibility of becoming the supreme commander of nato. the fbi has confirmed the name of the person, fred humphrey, described as a veteran agent andrea mitchell as the story continues