• Frederick  W. Humphries, 47,  has confirmed that he is the FBI agent who initiated the  investigation that brought down ex-CIA boss David Petraeus
• He denies  sending any photographs of a sexual nature to Florida socialite Jill Kelley –  but has confirmed a topless picture was sent years ago
• He is a  decorated FBI agent and assisted the investigation which halted the ‘Millennium  Bomber’ who attempted to blow-up LAX in 1999
• It has been  revealed that he personally took concerns over the investigation to Republican  Eric Cantor the Majority Leader of the House of  Representatives

By James Nye

PUBLISHED:19:16 EST, 14  November 2012| UPDATED:21:46 EST, 14 November 2012

The mysterious ‘Shirtless FBI Agent’ who  began the investigation that led to the resignation of David Petraeus has broken  his silence to say he did not send Tampa socialite Jill Kelley any pictures of a  sexual nature.

While not denying the now notorious, but  unseen ‘shirtless’ picture exists, Frederick W. Humphries, 47, said the  photograph was sent as a ‘joke’ and described it as him ‘posing with a couple of  dummies.’

Refuting media suggestions that the picture  was sent because he had become enamoured with the attractive Florida socialite,  the decorated FBI agent said that the photo was sent years before Kelley  contacted him about threatening emails she received from Petraeus’  biographer-turned-mistress Paula Broadwell.

FBI Special Agent Fred Humphries has been identified as  the ‘Shirtless FBI Agent’ who helped begin the investigation that brought down  David Petraeus

Veteran FBI agent Frederick Humphries is recognised as a  dilligent and passionate officer who helped to thwart numerous terror threats to  the United States

FBI special agent Frederick Humphries is shown at a  crime scene in Tampa, Florida, in this April 12, 2007 file photo courtesy of the  Tampa Bay Times

This photo taken Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 shows the home  owned by FBI agent Frederick Humphries in Dover, Florida

According to the general counsel for the  Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association who have spoken to Humphries, the  FBI counte terrorism agent only passed on the information Kelley provided him  with and played no part in the subsequent investigation.

Lawrence Berger told the New York  Times that  Humphries and his wife had been ‘social friends with Ms. Kelley and her husband  prior to the day she referred the matter to him.’

‘They always socialized and  corresponded.’

Berger denied any suggestion that Humphries  sent inappropriate shirtless pictures to Kelley during the course of the  investigation which has now engulfed the intelligence community in  Washington.

‘That picture was sent years before Kelley  contacted him about this, and it was sent as part of a larger context of what I  would call social relations in which the families would exchange numerous photos  of each other,’ said Berger.

Emails to a friend: Socialite Jill Kelly arrives home in  Tampa on Tuesday night

Claiming that the picture was sent as a  ‘joke’, Berger said that Humphries was ‘posing with a couple of  dummies’ at the  time of the photograph and that it was not sexual in  nature.

However, those with knowledge of the  investigation that Humphries sparked said that he was given a  dressing down by  his superiors for trying to push the complaint forward.

In fact, according to the New York  Times, Humphries  believed that the case was purposefully being  stalled for political reasons.

So much so, that in October, Humphries  contacted Representative Dave Recihert, a Republican from  Washington State,  where Humphries had worked before to ask for his help – purposefully going over  his bosses heads.

Mr. Reichert directed him to House  majority  leader, Eric Cantor who eventually passed the message onto the  FBI director,  Robert S. Mueller.

According to Wired Magazine, Cantor and his  staff personally met with Humphries in October but were unable to act on the  information he was giving them because they doubted his  credibility.

They also had no idea that FBI were  investigating David Petraeus in the first place and after conferring they  decided to contact FBI Director Robert Mueller on October 31st.

One week later, on November 6th, Election  Day, Mueller went to James Clapper the director of national intelligence and  Petraeus’ immediate superior – who urged him to resign his position as head of  the CIA.

In fact, the House Judiciary Committee has  written to Mueller to ask why it took him a week to come forward with the  information that Humphries had given him.

Friends in high places: Natalie Khawam, Gen.  David  Petraeus; Scott and Jill Kelley and Holly Petraeus watch the  Gasparilla parade  in Tampa, Florida in 2010

All alone: Paula Broadwell sips a glass of wine after  fleeing to her brother Steven’s house in Washington DC

Embroiled: General John Allen – seen here with  wife  Kathy and daughter Bobbie behind him – is now caught up in thie  scandal after  being linked with Jill Kelley

This  information puts severe doubt  over Humphries assertion that he took no active  interest in the case that has caused the resignation of the CIA chief David  Petraeus and  could cause the downfall of General John Allen, who commands U.S.  troops in Afghanistan.

‘Fred is a passionate kind of guy,’  said one  former colleague. ‘He’s kind of an obsessive type. If he locked his teeth onto  something, he’d be a bulldog.’

Humphries has since been reassigned and his  status is being reviewed by the FBI.

Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law  Enforcement Officers Association, defended Humphries as a experienced  professional. ‘From my view issues  of national security have unfortunately been  reduced to a bad episode of ‘Real Housewives,’ he said to the Wall Street  Journal.

‘The photos should not undermine the fact that the agent responded in a timely way and appropriately, nor do they reflect  any amorous relationship,’ he said.

It was Humphries who passed on  Jill Kelley’s  complaint about disturbing emails she had received to his  superiors in the FBI  Tampa field office.

The investigation tracked down the  emails to  Paula Broadwell and subsequently discovered the extramarital  affair between  60-year-old Petraeus and the married mother-of-two.

General Allen (left) and David Petraeus (right) are both  caught up to their necks in the burgeoning sex scandal

Who’s who? A flow chart explains the connections between  the major players in the Petraeus scandal

Heading out: Kelley has hired the crisis management team  who represented Monica Lewinsky and an attorney

The inquiry also brought in General  John  Allen after the FBI uncovered evidence that he had sent  ‘inappropriate  communication’ to Kelley.

Humphries grew up in Steilacoom, Washington,  attended high school in Canada and rose to become a captain in military  intelligence in the U.S. Army.

Studying criminology at the University of  Tampa, Humphries joined the FBI and in 1999 he was involved in the investigation  which foiled Ahmed Rassam the ‘Millennium Bomber’ who planned to attack Los  Angeles International Airport.

Two years ago the passionate officer was  attacked outside of MAcDill Air Force Base in Tampa by a knife wielding man, who  Humphries fatally shot.

Popular: Jill Kelley is pictured left in her yearbook  photo and with her husband Dr. Scott Kelley, right

In the subsequent inquiry into the shooting,  Humphries was determined to have used appropriate force in taking down the man  who was reported to be unhinged.

The special agent was also involved in the  investigation of former University of South Florida student Youssef  Megahed.

Megahed was arrested in August 2007 along  with USF student Ahmed Mohamed in South Carolina while the pair were transported  explosive PVC pipes filled with potassium nitrate.

Megahed was charged with illegal  transportation of explosive materials and possession of a destructive device.  Neither man was convicted on those charges, but Mohamed received a 15-year  sentence after an FBI investigation found he posted an Internet video showing  how to make a toy car’s remote control into a detonator.

However, after his April 2009 acquital,  Megahed was arrested again for a deportation hearing – after authorities deemed  his continuation in the United States too dangerous to continue.

‘We felt that Mr. Megahed was willingly  providing assistance to Mr. Mohamed, who is a self-professed terrorist,’  Humphries said at the time to The Tampa Bay Times.

However, the attempt to deport the former  student failed and Megahed remains in the country.

Search: FBI agents left Broadwell’s Charlotte, NC home  on Monday evening with documents and computers

Vigilant: Charlotte-Mecklenburg police stand guard  outside Broadwell’s house during the FBI search

Lawrence Berger, a lawyer for the Federal Law  Enforcement Officers  Association, told New York Magazine that Humphries passed  the  information on to supervisors but was not assigned to the case.

‘No one tries to become a whistle-blower,’  said Lawrence Berger.

‘Consistent with FBI policy, he referred it  to the proper component.’

This comes as it was revealed that the  harassing emails sent by Paula Broadwell, the biographer-turned-mistress of  David Petraeus, to her perceived love rival, Florida socialite Jill Kelley,  contained confidential information about the CIA boss’s movements

After Kelley contacted the FBI, agents  launched a massive in-depth investigation into who was sending the emails  because they shared this detailed information that was not publicly  available.

The catty emails, which told Kelley to ‘back  off’ from Petraeus, were sent to Kelley from several fake email addresses. In  order to find who had confidential information about Petraeus’ whereabouts, the  FBI obtained an administrative subpoena, and traced them back to  Broadwell.

Affair: David Petraeus is pictured with Paula Broadwell,  his biographer and alleged mistress

Life goes on: Broadwell looked like she was preparing a  salad at the home of her brother

In the course of the investigation, they also  unearthed emails indicating the affair between Broadwell and Petraeus, leading  to his resignation on Friday.

The new details of what uncovered Petraeus’  months-long relationship with his biographer come as the FBI continue to search  military documents Broadwell admitted to stashing in her home.

Security officials have revealed she had  ‘substantial’ classified information on her computer which should have been  stored more securely.

The computer was taken from Broadwell’s  Charlotte, North Carolina home on Monday night after she admitted to FBI  investigators that she had taken classified military documents, a source told  ABC.

President Obama said on Wednesday there was  no indication so far that any classified documents had been found but said he  will not prejudge the investigation results.

Officials continue to investigate exactly how  Broadwell acquired the files, but as an intelligence officer in the U.S.  Military Reserve, she had security clearance to review the  documents.

The government had demanded she return the  documents and organised the visit to her home. Prosecutors are now deciding  whether to charge her with a crime

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