Confirmation hearing will proceed Thursday without Allen

Allen’s nomination was put on hold Tuesday by President
Obama after the Pentagon said he was under investigation for potentially
inappropriate communication with one of the women involved in the scandal that
brought down CIA Director David Petraeus.

{mosads}A senior defense official said that the FBI turned over
20,000 to 30,000 pages of communication between Allen and Jill Kelley to the
Pentagon, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Department of Defense inspector general
would investigate.

Allen denies he did anything inappropriate, the defense
official said, adding that Allen will remain in his post as Afghan commander during the
investigation.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking
member John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in a statement Tuesday that the change of
command in Europe is now expected to occur no earlier than March.

They said Dunford’s confirmation needs to be completed by
the end of the year because of the uncertainties surrounding the schedule of
the new Congress in January.

Dunford is supposed to take over for Allen in Afghanistan in
February, the senators said.