Rob Porter and Trump: Explaining the story in three simple ways

The revelation, shared with CNN on Wednesday by Porter’s ex-wife Jennie Willoughby, raises fresh questions about who at the White House knew what – and when – regarding the domestic abuse allegations leveled against Porter by his two ex-wives, Willoughby and Colbie Holderness. But members of President Donald Trump’s team said top advisers in the West Wing were kept in the dark. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified earlier this week that the agency had completed its background check of Porter in July.

US President Donald Trump today denounced domestic violence, days after defending former White House Staff Secretary and his close aide Rob Porter, who was accused by his ex-wives of domestic abuse.

Meanwhile, a senior aide on the national economic council, George Banks, said that he has resigned after failing to get a permanent security clearance.

The line is reminiscent of the president’s defences of other men accused of sexual or physical misconduct – including former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. “If past practice had been adhered to, the White House counsel’s office would have been extensively involved with personnel security”.

Wray, in testimony Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, declined to discuss the content of the FBI’s reports on Porter sent to the White House, but said investigators “submitted a partial report on the investigation” in March a year ago, and then a completed background check in late July. But he declined to lay the blame on Kelly, whom he said has “done a remarkable job as chief of staff”.

Porn star Stormy Daniels believes she is now free to tell her story of sex romps with Trump because his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, admits publicly he paid her $130,000, says her manager, Gina Rodriguez. “I can’t say with 100 percent certainty”.

Trump’s silence until Wednesday drew criticism from both parties, especially after his remarks and tweets praising Porter and wishing him luck; ignoring the ex-wives who told the Federal Bureau of Investigation he assaulted them; and seeming to cast doubt on “mere allegations”.

At the White House, Banks was a leading advocate for the USA remaining in the Paris agreement, an global accord in which almost 200 countries agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions tied to climate change.

By the time The Mail published its article last week, only one of those officials had made a determination, the two people said, although it is not clear what the official had concluded. “Who else is now working at the White House following the completion of a background investigation without being able to obtain a permanent security clearance?” Everyone knows that and it nearly wouldn’t have to be said. But McGahn did not follow up on the matter.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence, in South Korea for the Winter Olympics last week, told NBC News he was appalled when he learned of the allegations against Porter, adding, “There is no place in America for domestic abuse”.

“Inexcusable”, Scaramucci added. “Kelly must resign”.

The allegations against Porter, however, are “unusual” and “an egregious infraction”, and it’s important to know more about what Porter told investigators and how the process moved from there because “he was clearly working to downplay it or mislead”.

Porter’s position came with access to some of the highly classified documents on the president’s desk.

Trump’s response to the unfolding Porter scandal strongly mirrors that of Trump’s response to the Charlottesville, Virginia tragedy, where clashes at a white supremacist rally left one counter-protester dead, as well as his refusal to disavow high-profile supporter and former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Grand Wizard David Duke.