John Kelly says he knew of emotional abuse allegations against White House staffer Rob Porter when he publicly praised him

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

White House chief of staff John Kelly during a press briefing.

• White House chief of staff John Kelly admitted on Friday that he was aware of allegations that Rob Porter, a top aide, was emotionally abusive when Kelly released a statement praising Porter as "a man of true integrity and honor."
• Kelly said that the photos of one of Porter's ex-wives with a black eye had not yet surfaced when he released his statement defending the former White House staff secretary, who had resigned by that time.

White House chief of staff John Kelly admitted on Friday that he was aware of allegations that Rob Porter, a top aide, was emotionally abusive when Kelly released a statement praising Porter as "a man of true integrity and honor."

"The first I heard of a serious accusation against him was on sixth of February," Kelly told reporters on Friday. "The accusation was late in the afternoon, and it was simply one of his two former wives had ... claimed that she had had some level of emotional abuse," Kelly said.

Kelly said he asked Porter, who was the White House staff secretary, about the allegation and Porter denied it.

"He said it's absolutely untrue," Porter said.

About two hours later, a second report was published that included allegations of verbal and physical abuse by another of Porter's ex-wives. Kelly approached Porter with the new claims and Porter immediately resigned, while still denying the veracity of the allegations, Kelly said.

The news website Axios reported that Kelly pressed Porter to stay on in his role.

"I can't say enough good things about him," Kelly said after some of the allegations had been reported. "He is a friend, a confidante, and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him."

Kelly told reporters at the White House on Friday that he "thought that statement was accurate" at the time.

Since the abuse allegations against Porter publicly surfaced, it has become clear that some top White House staffers, including Kelly and chief counsel Don McGahn, knew about the allegations for months before they became public.

"It was just a shock to us all," Kelly said.

"We didn't cover ourselves in glory in how we handled that," he continued.

Porter denies all of the allegations that he engaged in years of physical and verbal abuse. He has called the accusations, including that he punched his first wife in the face, "a coordinated smear campaign."