Co-Author Of Petraeus Biography Has Local Connections

By Elizabeth Hur

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The David Petraeus affair gets messier.

Monday night, Eyewitness News learned there are two ties to our area and both gave an insider's look at the fall of the CIA Director.

Vernon Loeb said, "I was dumbfounded when I heard about the affair."

Loeb, local editor for The Washington Post, ghostwrote Paula Broadwell's biography, "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus." Loeb says he worked with Broadwell for sixteen months on the book and in that time - never spoke to Petraeus himself, that was Broadwell's responsibility.

"What was a question in my mind was why General Petraeus was granting Paula Broadwell the kind of access he granted her. I never fully understood it but I always rationalized it in my own mind as something he felt he could control," Loeb explained.

Officials maintain the FBI investigated the CIA Chief for four months and in the end, agents did not find any evidence of an intelligence breach.

The investigation was sparked by a Florida woman, Jill Kelley, who was raised in Lower Moreland. Her brother spoke to Eyewitness News from Mount Laurel, NJ.

David Khawam, Kelley's Brother said, "My sister got anonymous emails, because of her stature and her position, she was scared. She filed a complaint with the local authorities and that trickled down to everything that's going on right now."

Kelley, who does fundraising for the US Military, had told a friend in the FBI about the harassing emails. Officials say those emails were eventually traced to Broadwell who believed Kelley to be a romantic rival. It's an allegation Kelley's brother emphatically denies.

Khawam said, "She is a dedicated mother and a dedicated wife. This is completely uncharacteristic of her to have a romantic relationship outside of her marriage."

Meanwhile, Loeb says he last corresponded with Broadwell last Thursday, the day before the scandal broke. Broadwell, according to Loeb, made no indication she knew what was to come.

Loeb added, "I assume both of them regret tremendously but I would bet both of them sort of come roaring back. They were very much alike in a lot of ways and both and both were alike in having this incredibly iron will."

Loeb, we should note, is the husband of Pat Loeb, reporter for our sister station: KYW Newsradio1060.

Late Monday night, Eyewitness News also learned the FBI searched the Charlotte, North Carolina home of Broadwell. Agents were seen carrying boxes out of the home and taking photographs inside.