It has been an awkward few weeks for the White House. When former Staff Secretary Rob Porter was publicly accused of physically and verbally abusing his ex-wives, the White House struggled to get its story straight, with Chief of Staff John Kelly claiming he demanded Porter's resignation within 40 minutes of understanding the severity of the allegations last week, while FBI Director Christopher Wray said he first briefed the White House on Porter in March 2017.
Concerns about how Porter lasted so long in the White House are multifaceted, although one branch is focused on national security — chiefly, that Porter had interim security clearance while his full clearance status was pending. Due to the abuse allegations against him, Porter was theoretically susceptible to blackmail, and therefore posed a national security threat.
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