WH Aide To Donald Trump Resigns Amid Accusations Of Abuse

Rob Porter (R)

A top White House aide, Rob Porter, has resigned after his two ex-wives came forward with stories of domestic abuse.

Remember, Donald Trump told us over and over how he has "the best people."

From The New York Times:

As the White House staff secretary, Rob Porter is not a public figure, but he is responsible for paper flow to the president, a job of crucial importance in the Trump administration. He frequently travels with President Trump on Air Force One, and he helped write Mr. Trump’s first State of the Union address last month.

But despite initial support from John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, and other West Wing staff aides, Mr. Porter announced his resignation on Wednesday, a day after his two former wives accused him in interviews of physical abuse when they were married to him.

His troubles were not a complete secret at the White House: Two people close to the White House said that the allegations against him made by his former wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby, had contributed to a delay in granting him a permanent security clearance.

In a statement, Mr. Porter said that “these allegations are simply false,” even as details of the alleged abuse and photographs of one of his former wives with a black eye that she said he had given her were widely circulated.

Ms. Willoughby shared a blog post back in April of last year that, without naming Porter, described the abuse during their marriage.

Porter reportedly asked Willoughby to remove the post several times.

Here's just the beginning:

The first time he called me a "fucking bitch" was on our honeymoon. (I found out years later he had kicked his first wife on theirs.) A month later he physically prevented me from leaving the house. Less than two months after that, I filed a protective order with the police because he punched in the glass on our front door while I was locked inside. We bought a house to make up for it. Just after our one year anniversary, he pulled me, naked and dripping, from the shower to yell at me.

Everyone loved him. People commented all the time how lucky I was. Strangers complimented him to me every time we went out. But in my home, the abuse was insidious. The threats were personal. The terror was real. And yet I stayed.

Even though White House Chief of Staff John Kelly knew of the allegations since last fall, he defended Porter this week saying, “He is a friend, a confidant and a trusted professional.”

“I am proud to serve alongside him,” Kelly added.

One more detail of note: Porter is apparently now dating White House communications director Hope Hicks, who is one of the closest, most influential advisers to Trump.

Here are the photos of the black eye Porter allegedly dealt his first ex-wife:

WH Chief of Staff John Kelly shamelessly continued to defend Rob Porter AFTER these photos were published of one of the ex-wives Porter physically assaulted. For those who still had a remnant of respect for Kelly, this proves once & for all that he’s NOT a good or honorable man. pic.twitter.com/A9oK20yUyj

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) February 8, 2018

Allegations of domestic abuse levied against top White House staffer Rob Porter by his ex-wives were known among senior Trump aides for months, and there was a scramble inside the West Wing to defend him when the claims became public, sources tell CNN https://t.co/O3vZAqIO3E pic.twitter.com/XqIzReb7YS

— CNN (@CNN) February 8, 2018

CNN: Rob Porter steps down after word got out he’s a wife beater.

MSNBC: John Kelly knew there was a wife beater working in the White House who couldn’t get security clearance.

Fox News: Valentine’s Day is around the corner ladies, what have u gotten for the man in your life?

— Dana Goldberg (@DGComedy) February 8, 2018