White House Seeks to Move On From Abuse Scandal. But What Did It Learn?
Porter
There would be much to investigate. A few senior officials in the West Wing had access to details of the allegations of physical and emotional abuse made by  Mr. Porterâs  ex-wives. A greater number of people had a sense that something was amiss  but chose to avert their gaze instead of asking questions.
The first hours after the issue was brought to light by an article in The Daily Mail were a confused blur  with officials like Mr. Kelly at first endorsing  Mr. Porter âs resignation  but then agreeing to issue statements in support of  him . That disarray belied the belief of some in the White House that someone â Mr. Kelly â was finally in charge after six months of drama and infighting in 2017. In reality  these officials now concede  no one truly was.
âThey havenât figured out how the place operates  and apparently they donât want to learn â said John Dean  a White House counsel under President Richard M. Nixon. The  Porter  situation  he added  âis a manifestation of what happens when you have chaos.â
Mr. Kelly  a four-star Marine general  had been billed as uniquely qualified to bring order to Mr. Trumpâs world when he took his post in July. Now he faces a morale crisis in the West Wing  where aides describe a sense of betrayal by a chief of staff they no longer trust after his claims that he had not fully known about  Mr. Porter âs problems and had acted within minutes once  he  learned of them.
But in the case of  Mr. Porter   White House aides privately acknowledge  some advisers appear to have chosen to try to protect a colleague who was generally well liked and  more important  too competent to lose. Mr. Trump himself often expressed his regard for  Mr. Porter  by describing him as âout of central casting.â
In the hours after the allegations against  Mr. Porter  became public  some senior officials in fact hesitated to force  him  out  in part because they argued that if one top adviser could be felled by accusations  they could all potentially be vulnerable.  Mr. Porter  denied privately to  his  colleagues  as well as publicly  that  he  had ever physically abused  his  wives.
What distinguished this crisis from the ones that preceded it was that it was not localized to one official  such as Stephen K. Bannon  the isolated chief strategist who left in August  or Reince Priebus  the often uninformed chief of staff who departed a month before that.  Mr. Porterâs case  had spread to so many aspects of the White House that  it  ensnared a number of staff members.
While multiple officials in the West Wing were aware that he had been unable to pass his background check  none appear to have made an effort to ascertain precisely why and take action on it. Several former White House counsels have said they would have made it their business to know if an official at Mr. Porterâs level was facing allegations as serious as domestic abuse  but officials in the White House have privately maintained that Donald F. McGahn II  the White House counsel  never did.
Yet former White House advisers from both parties have been mystified at the ineptitude of Mr. Trumpâs team in dealing with the fallout from Mr. Porterâs situation.
There would be much to investigate. A few senior officials in the West Wing had access to details of the allegations of physical and emotional abuse made by  Mr. Porterâs  ex-wives. A greater number of people had a sense that something was amiss  but chose to avert their gaze instead of asking questions.
The first hours after the issue was brought to light by an article in The Daily Mail were a confused blur  with officials like Mr. Kelly at first endorsing  Mr. Porter âs resignation  but then agreeing to issue statements in support of  him . That disarray belied the belief of some in the White House that someone â Mr. Kelly â was finally in charge after six months of drama and infighting in 2017. In reality  these officials now concede  no one truly was.
âThey havenât figured out how the place operates  and apparently they donât want to learn â said John Dean  a White House counsel under President Richard M. Nixon. The   [TGT] situation  he added  âis a manifestation of what happens when you have chaos.â
Mr. Kelly  a four-star Marine general  had been billed as uniquely qualified to bring order to Mr. Trumpâs world when he took his post in July. Now he faces a morale crisis in the West Wing  where aides describe a sense of betrayal by a chief of staff they no longer trust after his claims that he had not fully known about   [TGT]  and had acted within minutes once   [TGT]   learned of them.
But in the case of   [TGT] White House aides privately acknowledge  some advisers appear to have chosen to try to protect a colleague who was generally well liked and  more important  too competent to lose. Mr. Trump himself often expressed his regard for  Mr. Porter  by describing him as âout of central casting.â
In the hours after the allegations against  [TGT] became public  some senior officials in fact hesitated to force  him  out  in part because they argued that if one top adviser could be felled by accusations  they could all potentially be vulnerable.   [TGT] denied privately to   [TGT]   colleagues  as well as publicly  that   [TGT]   had ever physically abused   [TGT]   wives.
What distinguished this crisis from the ones that preceded it was that it was not localized to one official  such as Stephen K. Bannon  the isolated chief strategist who left in August  or Reince Priebus  the often uninformed chief of staff who departed a month before that.   [TGT] had spread to so many aspects of the White House that   [TGT]   ensnared a number of staff members.
While multiple officials in the West Wing were aware that he had been unable to pass his background check  none appear to have made an effort to ascertain precisely why and take action on it. Several former White House counsels have said they would have made it their business to know if an official at Mr. Porterâs level was facing allegations as serious as domestic abuse  but officials in the White House have privately maintained that Donald F. McGahn II  the White House counsel  never did.
Yet former White House advisers from both parties have been mystified at the ineptitude of Mr. Trumpâs team in dealing with the fallout from Mr. Porterâs situation.