One of President Donald Trump\u2019s top White House aides resigned Wednesday following allegations of domestic abuse levelled against him by his two ex-wives.<\/p>\n
Staff secretary Rob Porter said in a written statement that allegations that became public this week are \u201coutrageous\u201d and \u201csimply false.\u201d Porter said photos published of his former spouses \u2014 in which one appears to have a black eye \u2014 were \u201cgiven to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described.\u201d<\/p>\n
Porter added in a written statement. \u201cI have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign.\u201d Porter said he will leave the White House after a transition period.<\/p>\n
Porter\u2019s former wives recounted physical, verbal and emotional abuse they say he subjected them to during their marriages.<\/p>\n
Porter\u2019s first wife, Colbie Holderness, told the DailyMail.com that Porter choked and punched her during the five years they were husband and wife.<\/p>\n
Porter\u2019s second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, also described for the DailyMail.com how Porter once dragged her naked and wet from the shower to yell at her. She filed a protective order against him. Stories published online by the DailyMail.com included photos of Holderness with a bruised eye socket that she said she suffered after Porter punched her in the face while on vacation in Italy.<\/p>\n
Neither Holderness nor Willoughby could be reached for comment Wednesday. Telephone messages left by The Associated Press were not returned.<\/p>\n
Porter, 40, has been credited with working with White House chief of staff John Kelly to control the flow of information to the president. His influence growing in recent months, Porter was often seen with Trump when the president travelled and as he signed legislation or proclamations. He helped craft Trump\u2019s well-received State of the Union address and was credited internally for helping bridge divides in a White House riven by rivalries and for helping more effectively roll out new policy.<\/p>\n
The DailyMail.com published a statement from Kelly referring to Porter as a \u201cman of true integrity and honour,\u201d adding, \u201cI can\u2019t say enough good things about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him,\u201d Kelly added.<\/p>\n
Porter, well-liked throughout the White House, lost internal support once the photos came out. But even then, Kelly was urging him to stay, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to convey internal discussions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. There is no place for domestic violence in our society,\u201d Kelly said. \u201c I stand by my previous comments of the Rob Porter that I have come to know since becoming Chief of Staff, and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation.\u201d It\u2019s unclear what new allegations Kelly was referring to.<\/p>\n
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she had not discussed the allegations against Porter with Trump. She said Porter was not pressured to resign.<\/p>\n
\u201cRob Porter has been effective in his role as staff secretary,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThe president and chief of staff have full confidence in his abilities and his performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before joining the administration, Porter, a Harvard Law School graduate, spent nearly three years as chief of staff to longtime Utah Republican senator Orrin Hatch. Porter also worked for Republican senators Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah.<\/p>\n
Hatch released a statement that said he was \u201cheartbroken\u201d over the allegations and denounced domestic violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn every interaction I\u2019ve had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful. My staff loved him and he was a trusted advisor,\u201d Hatch said. \u201cI do not know the details of Rob\u2019s personal life. Domestic violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of President Donald Trump\u2019s top White House aides resigned Wednesday following allegations of domestic abuse levelled against him by his two ex-wives. Staff secretary Rob Porter said in a written statement that allegations that became public this week are \u201coutrageous\u201d and \u201csimply false.\u201d Porter said photos published of his former spouses \u2014 in which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21249"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21251,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21249\/revisions\/21251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}