Rob Porter Worked at Highest Levels of the Trump White House From Day One – Yet His Background Check ‘Was Not Completed’

How long does an FBI background check take? How long until someone has to say “you’re fired,” or “we’re just going to ignore this”? And who did?

Rob Porter is or was the White House Staff Secretary who resigned or was terminated on Wednesday and may or may not still be working for the Trump Administration. 

Those are just some of the “facts” White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah shared with reporters Thursday afternoon at a press briefing originally scheduled for 1:00 PM that did not begin until nearly three hours later.

The White House Staff Secretary is one of the top positions in the White House. As the Staff Secretary Rob Porter was responsible for literally every document President Trump saw.

Porter “worked closely with Trump, often accompanying him on official travel,” USA Today explained. “He’s even credited with helping craft Trump’s State of the Union address. As staff secretary, Porter is responsible for the flow of presidential paperwork around the West Wing and to the president’s desk. The job is an important gatekeeper to the Oval Office, ensuring that executive orders, decision memos, bills, nominations and other actions are thoroughly vetted before reaching the president.”

Someone with that level of access, both to the president himself and to highly classified, likely top secret memos should have a top level background check completed before they begin work, right?

Not in the Trump administration.

Porter, as most know at this point, was accused by both his ex-wives of domestic abuse. Violent domestic abuse. Graphic and disturbing photos included.

The FBI knew of the allegations, and the White House had to have known, before a bombshell article in The Daily Mail exposed the accusations, including many details, was published Tuesday.

Here’s how the White House responded to the Rob Porter scandal Thursday.

“The allegations made against Rob Porter, as we understand them, involve incidents long before he joined the White House.  Therefore, they are best evaluated through the background check process,” Raj Shah told reporters in a prepared statement he read from the press room podium.

Remember Shah’s second sentence for a bit. 

“It’s important to remember that Rob Porter has repeatedly denied these allegations, and done so publicly,” Shah continued, sounding exactly like President Trump did when he defended accused child rapist Roy Moore. “That doesn’t change how serious and disturbing these allegations are. They’re upsetting. And the background check investigates both the allegations and the denials.  The investigation does not stop when allegations comes to light. It continues to determine the truth.”

Porter began his job as White House Staff Secretary January 20, 2017 – over a year ago. 

How long does an FBI background check take? How long until someone has to say “you’re fired,” or decides, “we’re just going to ignore this”?

“We should not short-circuit an investigation just because allegations are made, unless they could compromise national security or interfere with operations at the White House,” Shah continued. “The truth must be determined.”

Absolutely.

Except Porter’s alleged violent behavior meant he was the perfect candidate to be blackmailed – which “could compromise national security.” Again, this person had access to every document President Trump does.

“And that was what was going on with Rob Porter. His background investigation was ongoing,” Shah said. “He was operating on an interim security clearance. His clearance was never denied, and he resigned.”

Again: How long does an FBI background check take? How long until someone has to say “you’re fired,” or “we’re just going to ignore this”?

“To summarize, the allegations against Rob Porter are serious and deeply troubling. He did deny them. The incidents took place long before he joined the White House. Therefore, they were investigated as part of the background check, as this process is meant for such allegations. It was not completed, and Rob Porter has since resigned.”

Let’s do that again.

The background check “was not completed.” 13 months plus into his job.

“During his time at the White House, Rob received no waivers and no special treatment. And this is the tried and true process. It was followed meticulously.”

Many are calling for Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly to resign over his remarks on the Porter scandal, and on his handling of Porter,  and Kelly should go for those reasons.

But why is no one asking Reince Priebus, Trump’s first Chief of Staff, who must have known Porter’s background check was a problem?