The White House is facing questions Thursday about why it continued to employ a key aide to U.S. President Donald Trump who had failed to win a permanent security clearance after two ex-wives told investigators he had emotionally and physically abused them.
The aide, Rob Porter, resigned Wednesday after a photo surfaced of the first of the former wives, Colbie Holderness, with a black eye she said she sustained when Porter punched her in 2005 while the couple was on a vacation trip to Florence, Italy.
Porter, a Rhodes scholar and Harvard-educated lawyer, served as the staff secretary in Trump’s White House. He was a key aide to Chief of Staff John Kelly in helping determine which articles and policy proposals were handed to Trump for his review.
News photos and videos showed frequent shots of Porter handing Trump documents to sign. He also helped draft Trump’s recent State of the Union address.
CNN reported that Kelly has known for months of the abuse allegations leveled against Porter by Holderness and Porter’s second wife, Jennie Willoughby.
Willoughby obtained an emergency protective order against Porter in 2010. Both women had details of their troubled marriages to Porter as FBI investigators conducted a routine security background check on him. But he held only a temporary security clearance at the White House.
After the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, first disclosed the women’s abuse allegations this week and Porter’s current relationship with White House communications director Hope Hicks, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kelly defended him.
Kelly issued a statement calling Porter “a man of true integrity and honor. I can’t say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.”
But after the photo of Holderness with the blackened eye became public, Kelly accepted Porter’s resignation, although no date was set for his departure from the White House.
“I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter,” Kelly said late Wednesday. “There is no place for domestic violence in our society. I stand by my previous comments of the Rob Porter that I have come to know since becoming Chief of Staff, and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation. I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.”
The White House declined Wednesday to comment about Kelly’s prior knowledge of the allegations against Porter.
Porter, as he resigned, denied the accusations of abuse.
“These outrageous allegations are simply false,” he said in a statement. “I took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described. I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign.”
…
