Social climber Jill Kelley wanted to cozy up to politicians as well as generals, as she’s visited the White House three times in the last three months.
A White House official confirmed to the Washington Post that the Tampa military groupie has lunched twice with a mid-level staffer at the White House cafeteria in September and October, and toured the White House again in November with her husband, their three children, her sister and her sister’s child.
Each visit was apparently arranged by the staffer at the request of Kelley. The White House official has kept the identity of the staffer secret, but said the employee is not a senior member of the administration.
Kelley and the staffer allegedly met during a visit to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, and notably where Petraeus met the socialite.
Kelley has made a name for herself throwing lavish parties and for befriending top military personnel. She’s been known to flaunt her VIP access to top military brass but family members tell The Washington Post that she also had “genuine friendships with some.”
However, in her first words since she emerged as a player in the bombshell Petraeus scandal, Kelley was caught exploiting her connections in leaked emails to Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn where she frets about how she, Petraeus and Allen have been “exploited by the media.”