As the FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen became involved in a nasty custody battle

Then-CIA Director David Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, intervened in a custody dispute in Washington, D.C., in September, writing letters on behalf of a woman who a judge had determined was Personal deficiencies in the areas of honesty and integrity are “serious.”

The woman, Natalie Khawam, is the twin sister of Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, who has emerged as a central figure in the scandal that led to Petraeus' resignation last week.

The letters, obtained by NBC News, were filed in court on behalf of Khawam, who the judge handling the case criticized for her “amazing willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own interests.” criticized.

At the time, Khawam was trying to relax a judge's order restricting her visits with her now four-year-old son. According to the attorney for Grayson Wolfe, Khawam's ex-husband, Holly Petraeus, the former CIA director's wife, previously signed an affidavit supporting Khawam. The letters were first reported by the New York Post.

The letters came to light after Kelley emerged as a key player in the scandal over emails that officials say were written by Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell – a trail of correspondence that led to Petraeus' resignation as CIA director and to A Pentagon investigation into Allen's defense officials called the emails he exchanged with Kelley “potentially inappropriate.”

According to court documents, the legal battle between Khawam and Wolfe was bitter. Both sides have accused each other of repeatedly lying to the court – including when inviting them to events with prominent members of Congress.

The court records also shed some light on the Kelley family's lifestyle: At one point, the judge — who had ordered Kelley's sister to pay her ex-husband's child support and legal fees — noted that Khawam was living “on rent.” free in Florida with her sister” in a home described as a “ten-bedroom villa in a beautiful area right on Tampa Bay.”

The judge also ruled that Jill Kelley was a “manifestly biased and unreliable witness” when she testified about an alleged case of domestic violence by her twin sister's ex-husband.

In a November 9, 2011 ruling, D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz rejected Kelley's statement that she saw Wolfe push Khawam down a flight of stairs in the Kelleys' home. Kelley testified that her sister held the couple's baby in one hand and was “somehow able to hold her own on the stairs,” while Wolfe, “who is significantly larger and stronger…was holding Ms. Khawam with both hands and everything.” above.” of his power.

Read David Petraeus' letter to the court

Read General John Allen's letter to the court

“The court does not believe this statement,” Kravitz wrote after calling Kelley an “incredible witness.” He called it “part of an ever-growing series of sensational allegations against Mr. Wolfe that are so numerous, so extraordinary and … so distorted that they defy any reasonable view of reality.”

Petraeus and Allen joined the case two months ago and wrote separate letters attesting to Khawam's paternity.

“My wife and I have known Natalie for approximately three years and met her through her friendship with Dr. during our ministry in Tampa, Florida. and Mrs. Scott Kelley,” Petraeus wrote in his Sept. 20 letter, in which he gave his signature as “General, U.S. Army (Retired.).”

He added that he had observed Khawam with her son on many occasions, “including when we invited her and the Kelley family to Christmas dinner last year.” “It was clear to me,” he added, that Natalie's son “was about much more time with his mother and would benefit from the lifting of the onerous restrictions placed on her.”

Allen's September 22 letter, identifying him under his signature as “General of the United States Marine Corps,” is similar. It said he met Khawam while serving with U.S. Central Command in Florida and observed her with her son at “command social events” “on several occasions.”

“Given Natalie’s maturity, integrity and unwavering commitment to raising her child, I humbly request that you reconsider the existing custody agreement,” the letter ended.

Defense official fires back, denying Afghan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails

A source familiar with Kelley's views said Tuesday evening that both Petraeus and Allen have been friends with Kelley and her sister Khawam for years. The source added: “If you are involved in a custody issue you will need letters of support. There’s nothing unusual about that.”

Sandra Wilkof, the lawyer for ex-husband Wolfe, said the letters from the two high-ranking military officials misrepresented the facts of the case. Both letters asked the court to change the terms of a “legal settlement” between the couple. In fact, Wilkof said, “There was no legal settlement. There was a court order,” she said, giving Wolfe custody and overseeing visitation for Khawam.

Judge Kravitz didn't give Wolfe carte blanche. In the November 9, 2011 ruling, he wrote that Wolfe “does not have a completely healthy psychological state.” And he pointed out that Wolfe made “questionable deductions” on his tax returns and “may not have been entirely truthful in his testimony about contacts he may have had with the online dating service FriendFinder.”

But he saved his harshest words for Khawam, writing: “Mr. Wolfe…is far more honest than Ms. Khawam and conducts himself with far greater integrity.”

In the decision, he noted that Khawam had taken the couple's son to Florida when he was just four months old, refused to tell Wolfe his whereabouts, ignored court orders to allow visits with his father and the had changed the boy's first name without his father's knowledge and made unfounded allegations of abuse against her ex-husband.

“The evidence revealed that Ms. Khawam exhibits extreme personal deficiencies in the areas of honesty and integrity,” Kravitz wrote. “Ms. Khawam's false claims of domestic violence (and her equally false statements in court relating to many of the same allegations) are merely the most startling examples of Ms. Khawam's willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own personal interests .” the costs of Mr. Wolfe, the child and others.”

Khawam's attorney, Greg Jacob of the law firm O'Melveny & Myers, did not respond to requests for comment.

In the latest issue in the case, Wolfe's attorney filed a motion Oct. 26 against Khawam's efforts to change the visitation schedule, saying that none of the letters from Petraeus and Allen promised “corroborating testimony” relevant to the court's decision.

The motion also argued that Khawam had misrepresented social events and that she had asked the court to let her attend them with her son. In one case, Wolfe's motion says, Khawam asked the court to allow her to take her son to a “family event” at the “personal invitation” of Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. In fact, the application states that this was “nothing more than a… political fundraiser.”

On other occasions, the motion says, Khawam tried to take her son to events with “Senator Kerry” and to the baptism of “former Congressman Patrick Kennedy's child” in New Jersey. In fact, the motion states that the invitation to be with Senator John Kerry was a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee event in Martha's Vineyard and that he declined her request to take the boy to those events because he did not believe that it was “the child’s interest.”

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