White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said Thursday he and his colleagues “could have done better” in their effort to respond to domestic abuse allegations that emerged earlier this week against President Trump’s staff secretary Rob Porter.
Porter resigned on Wednesday after his two ex-wives recounted stories of abuse during their relationships with him during on-the-record interviews with The Daily Mail. One of the women released pictures of herself with a black eye, alleging that Porter hit her while the two were on their honeymoon.
Several White House officials, including chief of staff John Kelly, defended Porter in statements released before and immediately after the administration confirmed his resignation on Wednesday.
“Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante, and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him,” Kelly said.
The president’s top aide then released a second statement hours later, claiming he was “shocked” by the reports of domestic abuse but believed every individual, including Porter, “deserves the right to defend their reputation.”
“I think it’s fair to say that we all could have done better in the last few hours, the last few days, to deal with this situation,” Shah told reporters during his first on-camera briefing on Thursday.
Shah said subsequent reports about Porter’s “troubling” behavior “were not reflective of the individual” he and others in the West Wing had come to know. He declined to say whether Kelly was “fully aware” of the accusations against Porter when he arrived at the White House.
“He became fully aware about these allegations yesterday,” Shah said, refusing to delve “into the specifics regarding who may have known what pieces of information, because they were all a part of an ongoing background check investigation” into Porter.
The White House confirmed on Thursday Porter was “operating on an interim security clearance” during his 13-month tenure in the administration, pending a background check approval by law enforcement officials. A background check investigation was still underway when Porter submitted his resignation on Wednesday.
“We trust the background check process and the chief of staff does not get detailed updates about what may or may not have been alleged,” Shah said, noting that Trump was never made aware of Porter’s partial-security clearance status.
He added, “It’s important to remember that Rob Porter has repeatedly denied these allegations and has done so publicly. That doesn’t change how serious and disturbing these allegations are.”
Shah also confirmed that White House communications director Hope Hicks, who is rumored to be involved romantically with Porter, “did recuse herself from some matters” related to his resignation and the administration’s response.
