Corey Lewandowski, once arrested for battery, slams White House over handling of Rob Porter scandal

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski blasted the White House over the handling of the Rob Porter scandal on Friday, telling Fox News that "the process they were supposed to have in place failed." Porter, the former staff secretary, resigned this week after being credibly accused of abuse by his two ex-wives. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has been at the heart of the storm after it was reported he knew Porter was going to be denied full security clearance but did not immediately fire him.

"The public reports now say that multiple people in the building were made aware of this over the course of the last few months," Lewandowski went on. On the topic of Kelly, he added: "The general is there to put in policies and processes and procedures, and in this case those didn't work and we need to find out why."

The White House rallied support for Porter by arguing the allegations were part of a "smear campaign" led by, among other people, Lewandowski himself. Although Lewandowski denies the reports, The Daily Beast writes that he once "agitated for Porter's ouster."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Lewandowski knows a thing or two about scandals, having been at the center of one himself. He was booked with a misdemeanor charge for battery after an incident with a Breitbart reporter in 2016, although the state ultimately decided against prosecuting him. Watch his unexpected bashing of the White House below. Jeva Lange