A team of Sidley Austin attorneys, including the head of the firm's privacy practice, is representing Jill Kelley, a Florida woman caught up in the David Petraeus scandal, in a breach of privacy suit, filed Monday against the government in federal district court.
Alan Raul, head partner of Sidley's privacy, data security and information law practice, is listed as lead lawyer on the complaint. Also listed is partner Edward McNicholas and associates Colleen Brown and Cara Lopez. Neither Raul nor McNicholas immediately responded to a request for comment.
Raul is former vice chairman of the White House privacy and civil liberties oversight board, established upon the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. He also served as the general counsel of Office of Management and Budget. Raul was associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan from 1986 to 1988.
McNicholas is a former associate counsel to President Bill Clinton and focuses on the intersection of privacy, constitutional law and white-collar defense.
Kelley was thrust into the public spotlight after it was revealed that Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. A federal investigation into the affair, which led to Petraeus' resignation as director of the CIA, was initiated when Kelley reported receiving harassing emails from Broadwell.
After the scandal broke, Kelley was represented by Chadbourne & Parke partner Abbe Lowell, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the complaint, Kelley and her husband Scott Kelley alleged that the government unduly thrust them into the public limelight, which took an emotional and financial toll on the family.
"The law is clear that victims and witnesses in government investigations are entitled to their privacy and to be protected from embarrassment willfully, directly, and proximately caused by the government," the complaint alleges. "Citizens like Mrs. Kelley and her husband do not deserve to be treated cavalierly or contemptuously simply because the government officials and agents involved did not take their dignity seriously."
The suit names as defendants the FBI and U.S. Department of Defense, but does not specify a dollar amount for damages.
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