Campaign Action
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said on Wednesday that he was “shocked” by the multiple domestic violence allegations against staff secretary Rob Porter, but Kelly had known for months:
By early fall, it was widely known among Trump's top aides -- including chief of staff John Kelly -- both that Porter was facing troubles in obtaining the clearance and that his ex-wives claimed he had abused them. No action was taken to remove him from the staff.
Instead, Kelly and others oversaw an elevation in Porter's standing. He was one of a handful of aides who helped draft last week's State of the Union address. He traveled instead of Kelly to the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. And he was one of a select group of aides who shook Chinese President Xi Jinping's hand during a state visit to Beijing in November.
Porter didn’t have the security clearance he needed and/because he had a history of domestic violence, and Kelly looked at him and thought “let’s increase his role in running the United States government.” Kelly also fought to keep him after the story became public:
Kelly, who has relied on Porter to execute a strict system of information control to the President, insisted that he'd be able to weather the allegations and remain in his job, according to a White House official. But Porter resigned anyway, over Kelly's objections.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly does not have a problem with men beating their wives. He is “proud to serve alongside” an abuser, and to raise him up to greater power. And Kelly wasn’t alone as a top White House staffer who knew and did nothing to remove Porter from access to power.
