Trump Declines to Condemn Rob Porter: ‘He Says He’s Innocent’
Trump on Rob Porter:
"He says he's innocent and I think you have to remember that" pic.twitter.com/Y5WuyVw2xh— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) February 9, 2018
President Donald Trump declined to condemn his former staff secretary Rob Porter after accusations of domestic violence from two of Porter’s ex-wives surfaced earlier this week.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump made no reference to the accusations and reminded the media that his former aide denied the charges.
“He says he’s innocent and I think you have to remember that,” said Trump. “We absolutely wish him well. Did a very good job while he was at the White House.”
Also Read: Rob Porter's Ex-Wife Says He Asked Her to 'Downplay' Domestic Abuse Accusations
“We wish him well. He worked very hard. I found out about it recently and I was surprised by it. But we certainly wish him well, it’s obviously a tough time for him,” Trump added. “He did a very good job when he was in the White House and we hope he has a wonderful career. It was very sad when we heard about it and certainly he’s also very sad.”
Porter resigned earlier this week.
His first wife, Colbie Holderness, said Porter gave her a black eye in 2005 — and provided the media with a photo showing the abuse.
From Axios
“Senior officials were trying to convince Porter “to stay and fight.” Those officials included Chief of Staff John Kelly”https://t.co/6oemKD10PZFrom Intercept
a photo of Porter’s first wife, Colbie Holderness, after being punched in the eyehttps://t.co/A0YpGr6i0h pic.twitter.com/VuH84VA0Vu– Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) February 7, 2018
Porter’s second wife, Jennie Willoughby, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper yesterday that Porter called her a few days ago and asked her to “downplay” the accusations and to delete a blog post she wrote about their marriage.
“The first time he called me a “f—ing b—-” 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,” she wrote.
“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.”
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