Allen pick for NATO to proceed

The White House said Wednesday that it would move forward with the nomination of Gen. John Allen as the top NATO commander now that he has been cleared of wrongdoing in connection with a series of e-mails with a Florida socialite.

Allen’s appointment had been on hold since the e-mails were discovered during the investigation that led to the resignation of David Petraeus, the CIA director, who was having an extramarital affair. The Department of Defense said Tuesday that it found no improprieties by Allen.

“The DOD’s investigator general’s investigation of that matter is now complete and we welcome its findings,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said at a briefing Wednesday. “And therefore, we intend for the nomination to proceed.” He said “we hope the Senate will consider it in a timely manner, and, you know, we will press the Senate to do just that.”

Allen, a Marine, is currently the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, but his successor has already been confirmed and is due to replace him within weeks. Until now, Allen’s fate had been uncertain. Even after the e-mail investigation was completed, officials initially said no decision had been made on whether to go ahead with the NATO nomination.

The Pentagon’s inspector general looked into whether his e-mails with Jill Kelley, a socialite from Tampa, Fla., violated policy, regulation or military law. About 15 investigators pored over the e-mails and examined them for indications of an inappropriate relationship or security breaches and concluded that “allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated,” as the Pentagon spokesman put it.

Kelley became ensnared in the investigation after she asked an FBI acquaintance for help with what she considered harassing anonymous e-mails she received warning her to stay away from Petraeus. Ultimately, the FBI determined that those e-mails had been sent by Paula Broadwell, Petraeus’ biographer.

On Wednesday, Allen broke a long silence on the investigation and released a statement in Kabul through his spokesman, Maj. David Nevers.

“From the outset, the general placed his faith in - and fully supported - the investigative process,” Nevers said. “He’s obviously pleased by the outcome. But more critically, he is grateful for the support he received throughout this process from his chain of command, friends, family and colleagues.”

Front Section, Pages 2 on 01/24/2013

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