Campaign Action
White House chief of staff John Kelly isn't only lying to the media and the American people about his supposed 'shock' over wife-beating aide Rob Porter. He's also lying to his staff—or, as the Washington Post put it, "Kelly offers account of Porter exit that some White House aides consider untrue”:
White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly on Friday morning instructed senior staff to communicate a version of events about the departure of staff secretary Rob Porter that contradicts the Trump administration’s previous accounts, according to two senior officials.
During a staff meeting, Kelly told those in attendance to say he took action to remove Porter within 40 minutes of learning abuse allegations from two ex-wives were credible, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because discussions in such meetings are supposed to be confidential.
“He told the staff he took immediate and direct action,” one of the officials said, adding that people after the meeting expressed disbelief with one another and felt his latest account was not true.
Technically, when you tell people something you know is, in fact, ‘untrue’—you’re lying. And in this case, Kelly is now asking staffers to lie on his behalf in order to cover up his lie that he was "shocked" to learn of Porter's history of domestic violence. In fact, multiple reports have confirmed that Kelly and much of the White House staff knew about Porter's issues months ago, not to mention the fact that Kelly lobbied Porter to remain in his position even after the first media reports surfaced Tuesday evening.
John Kelly apparently believes he's still a four-star general who can order his way out of a mess instead of a civil servant who needs the trust of his subordinates if he wants them to follow his direction. He might actually be shocked to discover that among us lowly civilians, a lie is just a lie, regardless of who tells it.