FBI/JOHN KELLY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “White House chief of staff John Kelly was told several weeks ago that the FBI would recommend denying full security clearances to multiple White House aides who had been working in the West Wing on interim security clearances. Those aides, according to a senior administration official, included former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who left the White House on Thursday [2-8-18] after reports that he physically and verbally abused his two ex-wives. The White House chief-of-staff told confidants in recent weeks that he had decided to fire anyone who had been denied a clearance — but had yet to act on that plan before the Porter allegations were first reported this week.
Kelly’s inaction has produced what may be the deepest crisis of his seven months on the job, unleashing a cascade of questions about whether Trump – who was accused by multiple women during the 2016 campaign of sexual impropriety – and his closest advisers take violence against women seriously at a time when the #MeToo movement has called other politicians, media moguls and entertainment icons to account… Those close to Kelly say they’re puzzled about why the former Marine general, whose singular focus since joining the West Wing in July has been to eliminate irregularities and chaos, failed to follow through on his determination to push out aides denied a permanent clearance… Interim security clearances are typically granted on a temporary basis while the FBI conducts a broad investigation as a part of the regular clearance process. That process includes interviews with an applicant’s friends, colleagues, and spouses, as well as with the applicant himself.”
-Eliana Johnson, “Kelly knew before abuse reports that Porter would be denied security clearance,” Politico, Feb. 9, 2018 11:12am