White House spokesman Raj Shah says administration 'could have done better dealing with' Rob Porter scandal


On Thursday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah began the daily press briefing by addressing the departure of former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter. In the last two days, The Daily Mail and The Intercept published stories alleging that Porter physically abused his two ex-wives.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly learned about the allegations months ago when Porter applied for a security clearance. But on Wednesday, Kelly and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders both issued statements defending Porter's character, even after he submitted his resignation.
CNN's Jim Acosta asked Shah whether Kelly had any "regrets" about the way Porter's departure was handled. Shah called the allegations that surfaced against Porter "deeply troubling" and "shocking" and said "we all could have done better over … the last few days in dealing with the situation." However, Shah insisted that "the initial reports were not reflective of the [Porter] we had come to know."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the course of his remarks, Shah also appeared to contradict the White House's official explanation of Porter's departure. ABC News' Cecilia Vega noted that the White House initially said his exit was a "personal" decision, but Shah on Thursday first said that Porter had been "terminated" Wednesday, before then saying that Porter "offered his resignation" Wednesday, and "it was accepted."
Later in the briefing, Shah claimed that Kelly's statement defending Porter was released before he saw the pictures one of Porter's ex-wives provided documenting his alleged abuse, though The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey noted that Kelly's statement came after the images went public.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
Syria’s strange post-Assad election
The Explainer Sunday’s limited vote ‘suited the phase Syria is undergoing’, says interim president
-
Why did the China spying case collapse?
Today’s Big Question Unwillingness to call China an ‘enemy’ apparently scuppered espionage trial
-
Alchemised: how Harry Potter fanfic went mainstream
In The Spotlight Traditional publishers are signing up fan fiction authors to rewrite their ‘explosively popular’ romances for the mass market
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland