JOHN KELLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “White House chief of staff John Kelly said he regretted his handling of the departure of Rob Porter, whose resignation last month resulted in an overhaul of security-clearance rules and played an indirect part in the confusion over the rollout of President Donald Trump’s new trade tariffs.
When Mr. Porter departed last month amid accusations of spousal abuse, the White House initially issued statements defending him and said incorrectly that a background check that contained details of the allegations was still in the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The White House later revised its statements and conceded it had mishandled the incident. Mr. Porter has denied abusing his ex-wives… Mr. Kelly’s assessment on Friday differed from comments last month, when he told The Wall Street Journal that he wouldn’t have handled Mr. Porter’s situation any differently. ‘It was all done right,’ Mr. Kelly said on Feb. 12, five days after Mr. Porter’s resignation.
Mr. Kelly said Friday that at no point did he consider resigning over the episode…
Mr. Porter, as the staff secretary, was a top aide to Mr. Kelly and acted as a gatekeeper on trade issues. Mr. Porter had effectively isolated Peter Navarro, the head of the president’s trade council known for his hawkish views. With Mr. Porter gone, Mr. Navarro made a direct pitch for tariffs to Mr. Trump. The president then told Mr. Kelly that he wanted Mr. Navarro restored to a central role in the administration’s trade policy, a White House official said.”
-Michael C. Bender, “John Kelly Says Resignation of Top Aide Rob Porter Was Mishandled,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 2, 2018 02:43pm