The White House's story about Rob Porter is an incoherent mess


White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter resigned Wednesday, hours after Britain's Daily Mail and The Intercept reported that Porter physically and verbally abused both of his ex-wives. But other than that established point, the White House has given significantly different versions of who knew what, when.
Notably, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly's version of Porter's departure is markedly different than the version from other White House officials, so "either the White House spokespeople or the president's chief of staff is lying," says Jonathan Swan at Axios. "It's a stunning display of incompetence that five days after the initial story broke, they still can't get their stories straight."
In Kelly's version, he demanded and got Porter's resignation within 40 minutes of fully understanding the severity of the allegations from the Daily Mail story, then went in and told President Trump what had happened. Porter had misled him Tuesday about the nature of the imminent negative stories about his marriages, Kelly told people to say.
Subscribe to 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.
But "multiple administration officials" told Politico and other news organizations that Kelly had known about the main points of the allegations against Porter for months, as had White House Counsel Don McGahn. In the main alternate timeline from the White House, the communications team had met with Porter on Tuesday, warned Kelly about the coming domestic violence accusations, then worked up a statement defending Porter in Kelly's name. On Wednesday, Swan says, "the White House press team told reporters that nobody asked for Porter's resignation. They added that several senior officials encouraged Porter to 'stay and fight,'" possibly including Kelly.
On Sunday's Face the Nation, White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney added another wrinkle, saying that Porter had proclaimed his innocence to Trump himself, telling him: "I've been falsely accused of this. Please don't believe it. It's not true." Porter was given "the benefit of the doubt" until the photos of Porter's ex-wife's black eye were published, Mulvaney said. That would be at 1:53 a.m. on Twitter — so Trump was plausibly asleep.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
DHS preps for major ICE expansion, rankling local law enforcement
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration positions ICE as the primary federal police force, its recruitment efforts have been met with a less-than-enthusiastic response
-
The return of 'Wednesday,' an 'Alien' prequel and a dramatic retelling of the Amanda Knox trial all happening in August TV
the week recommends This month's new television releases include 'Alien: Earth,' 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox' and a new season of 'Wednesday'
-
How does a 401(k) hardship withdrawal work and is it smart to take one?
the explainer More Americans than ever are resorting to this option in a pinch
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monuments
Speed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seat
speed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting vote
Speed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts