Ryan says ‘clearly we all should be condemning domestic violence’ after Trump’s refusal to do so.
The Latest on the White House’s handling of the allegations about former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who resigned last week (all times local):
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11:00 a.m.
House Speaker Paul Ryan says the government’s vetting of its employees is broken if an accused wife beater is allowed to assume a high-level presidential job.
Ryan was asked Wednesday about whether the White House should condemn domestic violence, which President Donald Trump has refused to do in the wake of allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter.
He told reporters “Come on, clearly we all should be condemning domestic violence.” He added that “if a person who commits domestic violence gets in the government then there’s a breakdown in the system.” Such a breakdown, Ryan said, needs to be “addressed.”
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S. C., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, told CNN on Wednesday that the panel is launching an investigation.
Porter has denied the allegations.
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12:01 a.m.
The White House and the FBI are at odds again, this time over a background investigation for a top aide to President Donald Trump who has left the administration after accusations of domestic abuse.
FBI Director Christopher Wray says the bureau gave the Trump administration information on multiple occasions last year regarding Rob Porter, who has been accused of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives.
The White House has asserted that Porter’s background investigation was ongoing and that officials first learned the extent of accusations against him only last week, just before Porter abruptly resigned.
The scandal has already called into question the judgment of senior members of the White House staff. It’s also put new stress on the administration’s already strained credibility with the public.
