Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, was accused by his first wife of being “physically abusive” during their marriage and was accused by his second wife of pulling her out of a shower and calling her a “fucking bitch” on their honeymoon.[1] “A man of true integrity,” said the chief of staff, hours before a reporter published photos of Porter’s first wife with a black eye.[2][3][4] US president Donald Trump, who once said it “doesn’t matter” what journalists write about him if he has a “piece of ass” that is “young,” blamed the press coverage of the abuse allegations on the White House communications director, whom Trump has reportedly called a “piece of tail” and asked to steam a pair of pants he was wearing.[5][6][7][8] Porter submitted his resignation, the press secretary said Porter was not “pressured” to resign, the chief of staff reportedly told White House employees that he fired Porter “forty minutes” after he learned of the allegations, and it was reported that the chief of staff was informed of the abuse by the FBI months earlier.[9][10][11] The press secretary said the White House didn’t act on the accusation because the FBI’s investigation into Porter was still “ongoing,” and the FBI director testified to Congress that the agency had submitted to the White House a “partial report” in March, a “completed background investigation” in July, and a “follow-up” in November.[12] The press secretary told reporters that “every day” the White House “can learn from the day before,” and a speechwriter for Trump resigned after he was accused of grabbing his wife by the hair, throwing her into a wall, putting a cigarette out on her hand, and driving a car over her foot.[13][14] “Is there no such thing any longer as due process?” tweeted Trump, whose former Kentucky campaign manager and Oklahoma campaign chair were each convicted of child sex trafficking, who was himself accused in a divorce filing of pulling his first wife’s hair out and raping her because he was upset about a painful scalp surgery performed to conceal his hair loss, and who has refused to apologize for calling for the execution of five black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted of rape.[15][16][17][18][19][20]
Sign up and get the Weekly Review delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to Harper’s Magazine today!
