The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Wednesday morning that the committee is investigating the White House’s employment of senior aide Rob Porter, after allegations emerged that Porter abused his two ex-wives.
Porter resigned last week as White House staff secretary, but Trump administration officials have been dogged by claims that they kept Porter on even after they were informed of the accusations.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said on CNN’s “New Day” that his investigative committee began a probe Tuesday night into Porter and what the White House may have known about the domestic abuse allegations against the senior aide.
“You can call it official, you can call it unofficial,” Gowdy said. “I’m going to direct questions to the FBI that I expect them to answer. And if they don’t answer them, then they’re going to need to give me a really good reason.”
As The Washington Post reported Tuesday, the White House has struggled to contain a widening crisis over its handling of domestic violence allegations against Porter. Sworn testimony by FBI Director Christopher Wray directly contradicted what President Donald Trump’s aides have said publicly about when the bureau informed White House officials about the status of Porter’s security-clearance investigation.
The Post’s Ellen Nakashima and Shane Harris reported that White House officials said they were first contacted in the summer by the FBI about Porter’s clearance. Officials also claimed that the investigation was never completed and that they did not know the extent of the allegations against Porter.
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