In one press conference, the White House raised dozens of new questions.
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.
The contradictions highlighted the growing questions about Porter, who managed to get and keep a crucial White House job even though the allegations against him were known and he couldn’t get a permanent security clearance.
“Resigned” versus “terminated” versus “a personal decision”
First, Shah read a prepared statement regarding the Porter scandal, in which he said that Porter “resigned” from his position as staff secretary.
That matches a statement given by Kelly yesterday, in which he said, “I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.” This was itself a reversal from Kelly’s initial comments on Porter, in which Kelly defended him and said that he was “proud to serve alongside him.”
But a few minutes further into the press conference, Shah told ABC News’s White House correspondent Cecilia Vega that Porter was “terminated”:
And yesterday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told NBC News’s chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson that Porter’s exit was a “personal decision”:
Shah says Porter was “terminated.” But here’s what @PressSec told me yesterday when I asked about the resignation:
— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) February 8, 2018
“Look, I think that was a personal decision that Rob made, and one that he was not pressured to do, but one that he made on his own.” https://t.co/1tRpU2TeEC
More questions than answers
In addition to appearing to flip-flop on whether Porter left his position voluntarily or was terminated, Shah said that Kelly only became “fully aware” of the allegations upon seeing photographs of Porter’s first wife, Colbie Holderness, with a black eye, obtained by the Daily Mail.
However, according to Holderness, those photographs were submitted to the FBI as part of its background investigation into Porter (for the purposes of obtaining a security clearance) in January 2017.
Rob Porter’s ex-wife Colbie Holderness tells @mj_lee she told the FBI in Jan 2017 that Porter punched her and showed the FBI the photos.
— Katie Hinman (@khinman) February 8, 2018
According to CBS News, the White House — including Kelly — learned about the domestic violence allegations in November 2017. Though Kelly may not have been aware of the exact details (security clearance investigations are generally kept private), these allegations were why Porter could only obtain a temporary security clearance — and yet he held one of the most important jobs within the White House. As my colleague Andrew Prokop wrote:
This is a crucial post that involves managing the paper flow to the president — from decision memos to policy and news briefing documents. When Business Insider’s Allan Smith profiled Porter last September, he said he had “the most important behind-the-scenes job in the administration.” (He quotes several GOP establishment types heaping praise on Porter.)
In the ensuing year, Porter’s influence inside the administration continued to rise. He was widely viewed as a competent, stabilizing presence in a dysfunctional, chaotic White House. After John Kelly came in as chief of staff last summer, Porter ended up serving as a crucial ally in Kelly’s effort to install a more rigorous process. Porter began traveling with the president, playing more of a policy role, and helped write Trump’s State of the Union address last month.
It’s worth noting that Porter was in his position prior to Kelly’s arrival — meaning that at least two White House chiefs of staff knew that Porter’s clearance was being held up (typically, an interim clearance is intended for temporary use) and yet continued to expand Porter’s portfolio.
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Breaking News: The White House press office changed its story on Rob Porter 3 times in one day - News Paper
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