WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – General John Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was cleared by Pentagon investigators of allegations of professional misconduct over email exchanges with a Florida socialite, U.S. officials said yesterday.
The decision by the Defense Department’s Inspector General helps lift a cloud that has hung over Allen, who is married and has two daughters, ever since he became indirectly ensnared in the scandal that forced David Petraeus to resign as CIA director in November.
It could also resurrect the four-star general’s military career – although a U.S. official told Reuters that, as of late Tuesday, no decision had been made on whether to proceed with Allen’s nomination to become the top U.S. military commander in Europe.
President Barack Obama put that nomination on hold when the investigation was announced in November, even as he expressed confidence in Allen’s ability to serve out the final months of his command in Afghanistan.
“With the investigation having only recently concluded, no decisions have been made on moving the nomination forward,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But it’s entirely possible that it could move forward in the days or weeks ahead.”
The Pentagon inquiry centered on emails between Allen and Jill Kelley, a Tampa, Florida, resident who knew Allen when he served as the No. 2 officer at the U.S. military’s Tampa-based Central Command from July 2008 to June 2011.
