Rob Porter’s resignation over abuse allegations sparks White House scandal

John Kelly is about to be on President Donald Trump’s bad side again, after an NBC News report that suggested the chief of staff thinks his boss is an “idiot” and that Kelly sees himself as the person standing between Trump and the destruction of the country.

The report also includes accusations that Kelly made comments that belittled female staffers, saying women are more emotional than men and bristling in private about the accusations made against Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary who was forced out after his ex-wives accused him of domestic violence.

It’s becoming increasingly clear: The White House was well aware of credible allegations of domestic violence against former White House staff secretary Rob Porter for months, perhaps even immediately after the inauguration — and did nothing.

Last Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that Porter had been accused of domestic violence by two of his ex-wives, with an emergency protective order filed against Porter in 2010 by his second wife.

Last week, White House aide Rob Porter resigned from his position after it emerged that both of his ex-wives had accused him of domestic abuse. But his ex-wives’ accounts, shared in the media, don’t just tell the story of two abusive marriages. They also reveal the structural and institutional failure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (or, the Mormon Church) to protect women from toxic and abusive relationships.

Both Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby told CNN this week about how they’d shared their experiences with Mormon bishops, who only downplayed the severity of their accusations or encouraged them to be mindful of the consequences to Porter’s career if they came forward.

The White House changed its story on when it knew about allegations of domestic violence made against former White House staff secretary Rob Porter three times in 24 hours last week. On Tuesday, the FBI blew up the timeline again by saying that the White House knew the severity of the allegations in the summer of 2017.

And on Thursday, CNN reported that Porter told one of his ex-wives that he had been made aware by White House staff that his security clearance was being delayed because of concerns that Porter was “violent” — in September 2017, five months before White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told the media he had been made fully aware of the allegations.

Colbie Holderness, the first wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, is taking a stand against Kellyanne Conway’s assertion that strong women don’t get abused.

Conway, appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, said that she does not fear for White House communications director Hope Hicks — who has reportedly been dating Porter — because of Hicks’s “loyalty and smarts.” Holderness felt compelled to respond.

Donald Trump doesn’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt — not political enemies, journalists, or even members of his own party. But on Saturday morning, he reminded us that there’s an exception to his rule: When a man in his orbit is accused of sexually abusing women, Trump is right there to defend him.

On Saturday, Trump sent a tweet calling for justice for two former White House staffers, Rob Porter and David Sorensen, who resigned this week after their ex-wives described brutal violence in their marriages. “Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new,” the president said in his tweet. “There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?”

Another Trump administration official is resigning amid accusations of domestic abuse, just days after White House staff secretary Rob Porter stepped down amid similar allegations.

The Washington Post’s Elise Viebeck reports that David Sorensen, a speechwriter, is resigning. His ex-wife, Jessica Corbett, has accused Sorensen of physical and emotional abuse in their two-and-a-half-year marriage. The couple divorced in September.

Donald Trump — the man who led “lock her up” chants for months; who, as recently as January, called for one of his political opponents’ top aides to be jailed; and who, 29 years ago, called for the execution of the wrongly accused “Central Park Five” — has suddenly discovered a concern for due process. What’s piqued his interest: the ouster of two of his White House aides, Rob Porter and David Sorensen, amid disturbing allegations of domestic abuse. The president is worried they’re not getting a fair shake.

In a tweet on Saturday, Trump worried about the fate of those whose “lives are being shattered and destroyed” by what he characterized as a “mere allegation.”

New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Peter Baker dug up another example of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly praising a man accused of serious allegations of misconduct involving multiple women.

This week, Kelly defended staff secretary Rob Porter — even speaking to his character, calling him a “man of true integrity and honor” — after credible allegations of domestic violence made by Porter’s former wives became public. Kelly now finds himself under fire for keeping Porter on for so long, and for giving him increasing responsibility despite an ongoing FBI investigation into his behavior.

After White House staff secretary Rob Porter left his position (or was fired) amid allegations of domestic violence made by his former wives, White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah attempted to respond to the growing scandal during Thursday’s White House press briefing.

But in doing so, Shah introduced more confusion, and appeared to contradict other members of the administration and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s own comments, offering at least three different explanations for what happened with Porter.

In July 2017, Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst took a photograph of members of the Trump presidential campaign and administration, one that the New Yorker described as iconic.

Taken outside of a veterans event in Ohio, the picture features former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, White House advisers Sebastian Gorka and Omarosa Manigault, communications director Anthony Scaramucci, and White House staff secretary Rob Porter.