In an interview, the FBI agent who sent a shirtless picture of himself to Florida socialite Jill Kelley, the protagonist in exposing the general David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell affair, said the photo was a "joke."
FBI Agent, Frederick Humphries, told the Seattle Times that the shirtless photo, which was sent to Kelley, was meant to be a joke and had no sexual innuendo attached it. In fact, Humphries says the photo was sent as a mass text to a number of friends as a joke.
The photo can be seen here.
Authorities also ascertained the shirtless pictures sent by an FBI agent to Tampa woman to be a "joke" on Thursday.
According to ABC News, "The photo, reportedly sent months ago by FBI agent Fredrick Humphries to several people including Tampa socialite Jill Kelley and a Seattle Times reporter, shows Humphries bare-chested and smiling with his arms around two shooting range dummies - all three share a striking resemblance."
Kelley has asked police for diplomatic immunity. Kelly is unofficial social liaison for leaders of the U.S. military's Central Command in Tampa, Florida. According to the Associated Press she called 911 and listed her status as an honorary consul general and requested protection from media.
"You know, I don't know if by any chance, because I'm an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability, so they should not be able to cross my property. I don't know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well," she said as reported by the Associated Press.
Another senior defense official told the Huffington Post Tuesday, that emails between Jill Kelly and General John Allen, another top U.S. military General involved in the scandal, were of "flirtatious" nature.
National Security spokesman Tommy Vietor said on Tuesday morning on behalf of President Barrack Obama that "the president remains focused on fully supporting our extraordinary troops and coalition partners in Afghanistan, who Gen. Allen continues to lead as he has so ably done for over a year," as reported by the Associated Press.
Authorities revealed on Sunday, that Broadwell sent threatening letters to Kelly. Kelly worked for Florida State Department liaison to the military's Joint Special Operations Command. When Kelly, 37, informed the FBI of the threatening emails, who in turn traced it back to Broadwell, after which the relation to Petraeus was revealed.
Petraeus submitted his resignation last week to President Barrack Obama on Friday citing an extramarital affair as an the cause for stepping down.
According to the New York Times, Petraeus said in his statement, "After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair...Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. This afternoon, the president graciously accepted my resignation."
Petraeus was appointed Director of CIA in September of 2011. Prior to this, the 60-year-old served as a four star general in the U.S. Army. He led the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Deputy Director of CIA, Michael J. Morell, will fill in the position.
"By any measure, through his lifetime of service, David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger," said President Obama in a statement released upon Petraeus' resignation, Obama added: "Going forward, my thoughts and prayers are with Dave and Holly Petraeus, who has done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time," as reported by The New York Times.
Holly Petraeus is the assistant director of the Office of Service member Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
