TRUMP PRAISES
ex-aide accused of abuses.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that a former aide accused of domestic abuse by two exwives had done a “very good job” at the White House, adding, “We certainly wish him well.”
The president emphasized that former staff secretary Rob Porter maintains his innocence, and Trump made no mention of the women who have reported physical and emotional abuse.
It was Trump’s first comment on the allegations against Porter, who had been one of his most trusted staff members until this week. Porter resigned after his ex-wives’ allegations became public.
Trump offered sympathy for Porter, saying, “It’s a, obviously, tough time for him. He did a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career.”
Trump said he was sad to learn of the allegations, but added: “As you probably know, he says he’s innocent. And I think you have to remember that.”
The comments came the day after White House Chief of Staff John Kelly tried to assure staff members that the Trump administration takes domestic violence “very seriously” amid mounting questions about how Porter managed to maintain a position of high influence despite the allegations.
Porter, who was seen by many as Kelly’s closest aide, cleaned out his desk Thursday. The fallout from his resignation reverberated amid concerns about his access to classified information and about how long senior staff members had known about the allegations.
Porter has denied the allegations, calling them “outrageous” and part of “a coordinated smear campaign.”
Though the accusations against Porter became public this week, Kelly learned last fall that something was amiss with the staff secretary’s attempts to get a security clearance, according to an administration official who was not authorized to publicly discuss internal matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The chief of staff had sought information about the status of security clearance applications for top aides, and it was then he learned there were allegations against Porter from his exwives, said the official. Porter and Kelly later discussed the allegations. The official said White House counsel Don McGahn was apprised of at least some of the accusations at least four times, including in January 2017, the official said.
That includes in November, when one of Porter’s ex-girlfriends called McGahn to describe allegations of domestic abuse against him.
The official stressed that the FBI had at no point revoked Porter’s security clearance, which they could have done.
Later Friday, White House spokesman Raj Shah confirmed that White House speechwriter David Sorensen had resigned after the officials learned of abuse allegations against him.
Shah said Sorensen denies the allegations, which were first reported by The Washington Post. According to the Post, Sorensen’s ex-wife claimed that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their short-lived marriage.
Separately, The New York Times reported that Kelly had told officials in the West Wing on Friday that he was willing to step down over his handling of the Porter situation, according to two officials aware of the discussions. The officials emphasized that they did not consider a resignation imminent and that Kelly had made no formal offer. Information for this article was contributed by Jill Colvin, Darlene Superville and Juliet Linderman of The Associated Press; and by Maggie Haberman, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times.