'I was shocked': John Kelly scolds, then defends, top White House staffer accused of domestic abuse

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

White House staff secretary Rob Porter, front, walks with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018

• White House chief of staff John Kelly said he was "shocked" by the sweeping allegations of domestic and emotional abuse leveled against top staffer Rob Porter.
• Porter's two ex-wives made those allegations, which led to Porter's resignation on Wednesday.
• Kelly had initially defended Porter, but later released a statement saying "There is no place for domestic violence in our society."
• A CNN report published Wednesday night cited unnamed sources who said the White House knew about the accusations for months.

White House chief of staff John Kelly said he was "shocked" to hear about the sweeping allegations of domestic and emotional abuse against top staffer Rob Porter, who resigned on Wednesday amid the fallout.

Kelly said in a statement released Wednesday night, "I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. There is no place for domestic violence in our society." The remarks were a departure from comments attributed to Kelly earlier in the day, when he allegedly said Porter should "stay and fight," according to a story published by the news website, Axios.

White House sources cited by CNN said that rumblings of Porter's personal challenges had been circulating in the West Wing in recent weeks, and that Kelly and some top aides had known of the abuse allegations since "early fall."

The claims reportedly came up during interviews that Porter's ex-wives gave to the FBI as part of Porter's background check, CNN said, adding that he was having trouble obtaining a security clearance. It was not immediately clear whether the abuse allegations were related to the security clearance issue. Despite this,

Several others vigorously defended Porter after the accusations surfaced on Wednesday. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised Porter and said Trump and Kelly had "full confidence in his abilities and his performance." And Orrin Hatch, the Republican senator from Utah, sought to undercut the allegations as "politically motivated."

Porter could leave the White House as early as Thursday.