Marine Corps General John Allen, one of the many peripheral characters mired in the marital affair between former CIA chief David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell, has been cleared of allegations that he sent inappropriate emails to Florida socialite Jill Kelley — another peripheral character who, incidentally, is trying to clear her name of wrongdoing, too. 

Now that Pentagon investigators have said Allen, who is currently the U.S. commander of the war in Afghanistan, didn't do anything wrong, the White House is proceeding with Allen's nomination to be NATO Supreme Allied Commander, an office he was on track to occupy before Petraeus stepped down from the Central Intelligence Agency, triggered an endless series of mini-scandals (remember the shirtless FBI agent?), and forced Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to pause Allen's nomination, while a team of unfortunate investigators sifted through his email history.

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J.K. Trotter