From  Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post:  The Pentagon’s inspector general has cleared the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan of wrongdoing following an investigation into whether he exchanged inappropriate e-mails with the same Tampa socialite involved in the scandal that prompted David H. Petraeus to resign as CIA director, U.S. officials said Tuesday. . . .

In a letter sent to [Marine Gen. John] Allen on Friday, the inspector general wrote that Allen had not violated military prohibitions against conduct unbecoming an officer, according to the senior U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter on the record. “He was completely exonerated,” one of the officials said.

[Secretary of Defense Leon] Panetta was informed that the investigation had cleared Allen, according to Pentagon spokesman George Little. “The secretary has complete confidence in the continued leadership of General Allen, who is serving with distinction in Afghanistan,” Little said.

Allen exchanged the messages with Jill Kelley, 37, who ingratiated herself with several senior officers at the Tampa headquarters of the U.S. Central Command. Kelley’s complaint to the FBI about another set of messages — ones that were harassing — eventually led to the discovery of an affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The FBI determined that Broadwell, for reasons still not clear, had sent Kelley the harassing e-mails.

A spokesman for Allen declined to comment.

The inspector general’s investigation prompted the White House to place on hold Allen’s nomination to become the supreme allied commander in Europe. Allen is scheduled to relinquish command in Afghanistan early next month, and the Pentagon has not yet requested that the Senate Armed Services Committee reschedule his nomination.

Defense officials have said Panetta’s decision to refer the e-mails to the inspector was driven by the content of some of the messages and by a desire to show that the Pentagon was not trying to ignore any potential miscount in the wake of the Petraeus scandal.  (photo: Washington Post)

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