The White House was first given information from the FBI on spousal abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter in March 2017 – a revelation that sheds uncertainty on the White House’s account of the events.
Porter stepped down from his post in February amid controversy surrounding the allegations. Although the White House has offered several different accounts about how the allegations were handled, the Trump administration claimed that no senior officials were aware of the allegations until Porter resigned.
However, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is investigating how Porter received a security clearance given the allegations, was sent a letter this month from the FBI that claims that agency provided a “partial report” to White House counsel Don McGahn that “contained derogatory information,” including the allegations of spousal abuse, on Porter.
Another report was sent in July, but did not provide information on the nature of the “derogatory information.” According to a White House official, McGahn did not see the report, per the New York Times.
“The FBI has now confirmed that it repeatedly provided derogatory information to the White House about Rob Porter as far back as March of 2017,” House Oversight ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said in a statement Thursday. “But White House officials ignored this information and continued granting Porter access to our nation’s most highly classified secrets—just as they did with Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner.”
House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., announced in February his committee would be opening an investigation into Porter’s White House employment and sent a letter to chief of staff John Kelly requesting details about when any White House officials became aware of any “potential derogatory or disqualifying information” about Porter.
The letter also asked about the White House’s policies on interim security clearances for staffers and if those standards were applied to Porter’s interim and final security clearance.
In response, White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short did not provide the requested details on how Porter was permitted to work for the White House with an interim security clearance – a response Gowdy called “inadequate.”
The response also prompted Cummings to call on Gowdy to issue subpoenas to obtain the documents the chairman had requested.
“The White House is now refusing to provide documents to the Oversight Committee, yet Chairman Gowdy refuses to issue a subpoena or demand interviews of White House staff that he promised,” Cummings said Thursday. “This is the latest in a string of grave national security breaches at the highest levels of the Trump Administration, yet the White House is openly defying Congressional oversight while Chairman Gowdy refuses to issue a single subpoena to anyone—no matter how grave the abuse.”
Gowdy’s office did not immediately respond to comment.
The Daily Mail published a report in February claiming Porter called his second wife a “fucking bitch” while they were on their honeymoon and grabbed her naked out the shower on one occasion. The report also featured a protective order that she obtained in 2010. Porter’s first wife, Colbie Holderness, then told the Daily Mail in a separate report that the former White House aide had punched her face, choked her, and other abuses. The second report featured a photo of the first wife with a black eye.
After the reports came out, Porter announced he would be stepping down from his post, but denied the credibility of the abuse allegations.
