Rob Porter

I thought the resignation of another Trump White House staffer was ho-hum, just another day -- there have been something like 41 resignations -- until I read this:

Quote :

Reports indicate that Porter never received a full security clearance, despite his high-ranking role as staff secretary — a gatekeeper serving closely alongside Kelly. The reason is that both ex-wives told the FBI during background interviews that he was abusive. If how this was handled is true, it's an indictment of how the White House handled Porter's entire employment and an even bigger indictment of the staff's initial reactions to the news Tuesday. It's tough to believe nobody was asking questions about why Porter hadn't received a full security clearance. But even if nobody cared to ask before, you have to believe they'd ask once the Daily Mail confronted them with the allegations from the first ex-wife.

Again, if all of this is true, it's impossible to understand how Kelly was truly “shocked” by any of this. It's also really, really hard to understand why the White House didn't check to make doubly sure that their initial statements about Porter wouldn't come back to bite them — especially on such a sensitive issue as domestic abuse.

Quote :

Could it have been steered by communications director Hope Hicks, who is reportedly dating Porter?

Oh. My. God.

Since this story broke yesterday there has been a lot of reporting about who knew what when -- Porter was fingered by the FBI as a domestic abuser over a year ago, which is why he couldn't get a security clearance. Both Jeff Sessions and John Kelly were told this by the FBI at the time. Yet he was allowed to control access of information getting to the president, even without a security clearance.

Yet NOBODY, that I have seen, has mentioned the apparent fact that he was(is?) dating Hope Hicks.

It came up on a graphic on Rachel Maddow's show tonight, but she still didn't mention it.

Am I the only one who thinks this is potentially an explosive detail???

Yep, as I suspected, she helped craft the White House's response to the crisis, and now Trump has turned on her for her divided loyalty.  This is just too rich.

Quote :

Trump was allegedly also irked with his team’s attempts to conduct triage. “Trump watched Shah’s session and was unhappy that he showed contrition on behalf of the White House,” according to the Washington Post.

NEVER admit "contrition."  A man must show strength and resolve (and most of all, DENIAL) in the face of abuse complaints

I hate to say this but it's so common on the list of things we women have to deal with it almost doesn't even register anymore. Not having a way to fight back against a powerful man using your body in a way he doesn't have a right to, it's just so every day now. Take the average secretary or waitress. You start your day doing the majority of the emotional and physical labor at home, you get catcalled on your way to work, you get sexually harassed for money at work and while technically in some vacuum you are free to call them on that the reality is very different. You get off work get catcalled and harassed some more on the way home and either risk violence and abuse on the dating scene or at home in relationships where at the very least a woman is usually thought of as free labor. Our lives are so packed with it it doesn't even shock me anymore. If anything what shocks me is that finally a mother fucker got caught. That's pretty awesome.

You can't lie about the FBI. They keep track of shit. Even IF you are the President.