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Jill Kelley says Paula Broadwell tried to blackmail her in new interview

By KATE STANTON, UPI.com
In an image from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), ISAF Commander General David Petraeus shakes hands with Paula Broadwell in July 2011. UPI/ISAF
1 of 2 | In an image from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), ISAF Commander General David Petraeus shakes hands with Paula Broadwell in July 2011. UPI/ISAF | License Photo

The Petraeus affair's "other other woman" has finally opened up about the so-called "Love Pentagon" scandal that blew the lid on CIA director David Petraeus' sexual relationship with his biographer Paula Broadwell three months ago. Kelley claims in a new interview that she was "terrified" when Broadwell tried to blackmail, extort and threaten her in a series of anonymous emails.

The 37-year-old Tampa socialite told The Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz, that she didn't even realize the emails were from a woman and that the writer, whom she later learned was Broadwell, never told her to stay away from Petraeus.

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"I did what anybody else would have done when they were feeling threatened, to go seek protection from somebody I could trust," Kelley said of her decision to take the emails to the FBI. The resulting investigation eventually led to Petraeus' resignation from the CIA last November.

Kelley denied reports that the two women were "romantic rivals" vying for the affections of the married CIA director. "Think how bizarre that is," she said.

Kelley was also the subject of rumors that she had an affair with the nation's top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, claims both Kelley and Allen refuted.

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“It was devastating,” Kelley said of the weekend the scandal broke.

To have your privacy invaded is truly—there are no words to describe it. Instead of enjoying a family birthday party, I had paparazzi storming my front lawn, pushing down the door. There are no words to describe the panic and fear at that moment.

The Daily Mail reported Tuesday that Kelley, who lost an "honorary" diplomatic title to South Korea and "honorary consul" license plates in the aftermath of the affair, is writing a tell-all book.

If the labyrinthine nature of the Petraeus affair still seems intimidatingly complicated, check out Gawker's handy flowchart.

Read the whole interview over at The Daily Beast.

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