Rob Porter, former Staff Secretary to the President, resigned last week after allegations of domestic abuse made against him by his ex-wives, Colbie Holderness and Jenny Willoughby, became public. Porter has denied these allegations.
The White House, including Chief of Staff John Kelly and President Trump, have known about the allegations against Porter since November, according to reports, because the allegations had prevented Porter from obtaining a security clearance. Kelly, however, denies having learned of these accusations prior to last week.
The staff secretary controls the flow of all information to the president, including sensitive and often classified information. That Porter was allowed to remain in this position for a year without a permanent clearance poses a major national security concern for our country. Other aides still in the White House continue to work in the White House with just temporary security clearances.
Aside from national security concerns, though, this situation also signals a massive managerial failing on the part of the president and Kelly. During his tenure at the White House, Porter began dating communications director Hope Hicks. Apparently, Hicks helped Porter craft his statement to the press in response to the allegations, and may have known about them when Kelly and the president learned about them in November.
In any other business, it would be a huge liability for the employer if they did not take proper precautions to ensure that one of their employees did not pose a threat to the safety of another employee.
In all likelihood, the president and Kelly failed to do their due diligence in protecting their staff largely because they do not recognize the severity of sexual assault and domestic abuse allegations and their implications for the workplace. While people can change, and Porter may have changed since the last reported instance of his abusive behavior in 2010, employers have a responsibility to ensure a safe workplace for women.
The mishandling of these allegations against Porter is just another instance of the President failing to take seriously allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and now domestic violence. The President and the White House failed to take seriously allegations against former Senate candidate Roy Moore. Additionally, the administration continually ignores the allegations against the president himself and criticism of his public behavior and attitudes toward women. Often, the president demonstrates more sympathy for men accused of sexual assault than the women who are the survivors of it.
Given the pattern, we perhaps cannot hope for better from the White House, so we ought expect better of ourselves and our peers.
