White House chief of staff John Kelly said the administration handled the domestic abuse allegations of aide Rob Porter poorly
WASHINGTON — White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Friday he did not know of accusations that former aide Rob Porter hit one of his wives when he praised Porter.
Kelly said he only knew of claims of emotional abuse when he accepted Porter’s resignation, and sent out a statement praising Porter’s professionalism.
“We didn’t cover ourselves in glory in how we handled that,” Kelly said.
Kelly said when he learned of the physical accusations, including a picture of Porter’s first ex-wife with a black eye, he made sure Porter had left the White House.
The matter of Porter, the former White House staff secretary, has roiled the White House for weeks.
Revelations that Porter had access to classified information despite the accusations against him prompted a review of security procedures within the White House. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, saw his security clearance downgraded as a result.
Kushner, who has not been granted a permanent security clearance, has been working with a temporary clearance that had allowed him to see the most secret government information.
White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, who had dated Porter at one time, took criticism over the communications strategy over the Porter resignation. Hicks announced this week that she would soon be leaving the White House.
Kelly said Porter had denied the allegations. The chief of staff also said the claims shocked him and the rest of the staff.
“It was just a shock to us all,” Kelly said.
When Kelly praised Porter, Kelly said, “At that point in time, I thought that statement was accurate.”
