The Palm Beach Post

Trump praises ex-aide accused of abuse

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that a former aide accused of domestic abuse by two ex-wives had done a “very good job” at the White House, adding, “We certainly wish him well.”

Trump emphasized that former staff secretary Rob Porter maintains his innocence, and the president 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 staffers until this week. Porter resigned after his ex-wives’ allegation­s became public.

Trump offered sympathy for Porter, saying, “It’s a ... 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 a day after White House chief of staff John Kelly tried to assure staff 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, arguably 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 staffers had known about the allegation­s.

Porter has denied the allegation­s, calling them “outrageous” and part of “a coordinate­d smear campaign.”

Although the accusation­s became public this week, Kelly learned last fall that something was amiss with Porter’s attempts to get a security clearance, according to an administra­tion official who 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 ex-wives, the official said. 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 stressed that the FBI never revoked Porter’s security clearance, which it could have done.

Staffers felt misled about how Porter downplayed the allegation­s, both to Kelly and McGahn, the administra­tion official said. Kelly himself faced criticism for initially defending his aide — only to later shift course after the publicatio­n of photos showing one of Porter’s ex-wives with a black eye.

“It’s fair to say we all could have done better over the last few hours or last few days in dealing with this situation,” White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said Thursday.

In a memo to his staff late Thursday, Kelly wrote that “while we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegation­s made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence very seriously. Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society.”

 ??  ?? Ex-White House aide Rob Porter is accused of domestic abuse.
Ex-White House aide Rob Porter is accused of domestic abuse.

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