jenny willoughby's op-ed comes after the president tweete

again, willoughby and another woman. after porter's resignation, the president praised him, wished him well, and took to twitter, quote, people's lives are being chattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. and that's the part that has jennie willoughby, porter's ex-wife, enable to stay quiet. the president saying that her story is not true. willoughby wrote a piece for "time" magazine today, and i'm going to read some of it for you now sm now. she writes "the words mere allegation and falsely accused meant to imply that i am a liar, that colbie holderness is a liar. that the work was doing in the white house is of higher value than our mental, physical, or emotional well-being. that his professional contributions are worth more than the truth. that abuse is something to be questioned and doubted." she goes on, "everyone wants to talk about how trump implied i a am not to be believed, as if trump is the model of kindness and forgiveness. as if he readily acknowledges his own shortcomings and shows empathy and concern fo

amanda, you heard what jenny willoughby said. took away from it. >> the takeaway from that sound bite is that someone acting as a representative of the white house asked a woman to change her truth about the abuse that she suffered. and this isn't just about a staff secretary. this is about the culture of abuse that continues to permeate within this white house that we all were well aware of, even during the campaign. aides to donald trump have gone forth and told the press that they viewed it as a litmus test of whether people would be willing to defend donald trump in the aftermath of the "access hollywood" tapes, which let's be clear, on those tapes, he talked favorably about sexual assault. so that is a job requirement in this white house. so no, i'm not surprised when people look the other way when they learn these facts about mr. porter. but the reason why it should concern everyone is not a staff issue, is that we should want the best of america working from the white house. it is a reflection of us, and what it has turned

jenny willoughby said that he called her and informed her that the security clearance was delayed and one of the reasons was concerns that he had been violent. here is exactly what willoughby told me, quote wherks i asked him how he knew that, he told me that people who were involved in the background check let he him know it was being delayed and that one of the concerns was that he was violent. he asked me if i had used that word with the fbi and if colbie had used the word. this is all raising more questions about who knew what and when about allegations against porter. what willoughby is saying here is it suggests that porter was told about concerns in september about his security clearance check. we have reached out to the white house with a series of questions to figure out who may have talked to porter and we haven't heard back. just to remind everyone, top white house aides have insisted that few people inside the west wing knew about the allegations before the news broke last week but keep in mind fbi director chris wray said that they submitted a report as early as march. >>

porter's second ex-wife, jennifer willoughby, told the "daily mail" porter dragged her wet and naked out of the shower and was verbally abusive, an account she confirms to nbc news. nbc news has also obtained a 2010 protective order where willoughby told police during their separation porter ignored her multiple requests to leave her home and at one point punched in the glass on the door. "i called the police, afraid that he would break in," she said. mounting questions about how porter was given such close access to the president and the documents that crossed his desk. a former white house official says chief of staff john kelly was aware of the allegations of abuse before the story broke. two sources familiar with the matter tell nbc news it is believed porter was never given full security clearance, although it's not clear why. the administration now on defense. >> i think that was a personal decision that rob made and one that he was not pressured to do but one that he made on his own. >> reporter: the white house is not commenting on porter's security clearance. one other layer

more from my conversation with jenny willoughby. here's what she told me about what her ex-husband wanted to know about her interview with the fbi. did he know that the fbi had talked to you? was he concerned about that at all? >> yeah, so he -- because we were in contact, he had actually let me know the fbi was going to be contacting me and got the information so that they could. >> standard procedure? >> yeah, yeah. and leading up to the interview, he asked me what i intended to say. and what types of things i would say about him. and i was honest with him about what i planned to say. and after the fbi interview, he wanted to know the same thins. what types of things did they ask, what types of things did i say? rob was aware of what i had shared with the fbi. >> was he concerned about what his first wife had said? >> yes. >> back now with the panel. it's so interesting. to hear pam's reporting that the president is unhappy that raj shaw dared to admit it could have been handled better, and he was talking about it could have been

hol >>> back now with jenni willoughby. i wanted to ak you about a couple of things the white house has said or done or not done. chief of staff john kelly said porter is, quote, a man of true integrity and honor. that what he said earlier yesterday. they now say they only became fully aware of the allegations yesterday and then when asked today about what changed between when the first statement was made and the later statement, they said it was, quote, the full nature of the allegations particularly the images. do you think it should have taken the white house seeing images of colbie bruised and battered to come up with a different statement? >> you know, i feel like that's a speculative thing that i can't really answer just because of the -- of my closeness to it and the nature of it, but i do feel as though knowing rob the way that i do, he probably is able to, even -- even if his clearance hadn't gone through and they knew it was because of problems his marriage, i think he was probably able to spin it in a way that it

porter's second wife, jennifer willoughby, said she spoke to the fbi. >> i told them the details of my marriage, including verbal and emotional abuse and including an incident when he pulled me out of the shower. they were made aware of the protective order i signed in june of 2010. they were made aware of another time when i had called the police to our home after a domestic disturbance. >> the white house repeated porter's denials. said he was not denied a security clearance. >> his background investigation was ongoing.

in a june 2010 statement to arlington, virginia, authorities, willoughby said porter punched the glass on their front door. "i called the wrote. "i was afraid he would break in." willoughby wrote on instagram this april, "just after our one-year anniversary, he pulled me naked and dripping from the shower to yell at me. when i tried to get help i was counseled to consider carefully how what i said might affect his career, and so i kept my mouth shut and stayed." >> is he going to be leaving the white house any time soon? >> he is going to be leaving the white house. it won't be immediate, but he is resigning from the white house, but he's going to stay on to ensure there is a smooth transition. >> reporter: porter called the allegations outrageous and simply false. as staff secretary, porter was one of president trump's closest the conduit for all written information given to mr. trump. before working at the whiter was to utah republican senator orrin hatch. >> if iind more people like him i would hire them. i think that's how good he is. >> reporter: the f.b.i. informed the white hous

porter's second wife, jennifer willoughby tells "the washington post" newspaper that porter once dragged her from the shower after an argument. >> he came and grabbed me by the shoulders here and pulled me out of the shower in a rage. immediately on seeing the terror in my face, retracted and apologized and changed composure immediately. >> the allegation is years and years of abuse. both women say they told fbi agents about the abuse during porter's security clearance

willoughby said she called the police, afraid he was going to break in. a former white house official told nbc news white house chief of staff john kelley was aware of the allegations of abuse before the story broke. and as if this wasn't enough, porter is reportedly dating white house communications director hope hicks, who plays a role, of course in all public statements from the white house, including those that were sent out last night in defense of porter. it's a lot to talk about and here with us to talk about it, franco ordonez, white house correspondent for mcclatchy newspapers. anita kumal, mcclatchy newspapers. welcome to you all. anita, i'll start with you. last night in my office i held in my hand, precipitated out, a one-page collection of quotes and praise about rob porter from various figures in the government. tonight, we see the story. rob porter is out. may not be on the job by this time tomorrow night. i've heard it proffered that the only thing that changed was a disgusting picture of a black eye on a woman that surfaced today. could t

jenny willoughby is her name. she was married to rob porter from 2009 to 2013. she said she endured physical and emotional abuse. porter's first wife colbie holderness divorced him after years. rob porter denies the allegations calling them outrageous, false. he says the reality behind the pictures is nowhere close to what is being described and says quote, i've been transparent and truthful about these vile claims. with that said, i want to play you what jenny said in just a moment. first i want to two to pam brown standing by at the white house. >> reporter: at the white house morale is low about the handling of the rob porter situation with the white house so fiercely coming to his defense in the wake of these domestic abuse allegations. in fact, you heard today a rare admission from the white house saying that this could have been handled better. there's still a lot of outstanding questions here tonight about what john kelly, the chief of staff knew and when today the white house said that he was not fully aware until yesterday. then when pressed on that, th

porter's second ex-wife jennifer willoughby told the "daily mail" porter dragged her wet out of a shower and was verbally abusive. an account she confirmed to nbc news. nbc news also obtained a 2010 protective order with willoughby told police during their separation, porter ignored her multiple requests to leave her home and at one point punched on the glass on the door. "i called the police afraid he would break in," she said. tonight, mounting questions about how porter was given such close access to the president and documents that crossed his desk. a former white house official says chief of staff john kelly was aware of the allegations of abuse before the story broke. two sources familiar with the matter tell nbc news it is believed porter was never given full security clearance although it's not clear why. the administration now on defense. >> i think that was a personal decision that rob made. and one that he was not pressured to do but one that he made on his own. >> reporter: the white house is not commenting on porter's security clearance. one other layer to this, porter is re

that's the part that has jenny willoughby unable to stay quite. she wrote a piece for time magazine today. she writes, the words mere allegation and falsely accused meant to imply that i am a liar, that colby holderman is a liar. that the work rob was doing in the white house was of higher value than our mental or physical well being. that his contributions are worth more than the truth. that abuse is something to be questioned and doubted. she goes on, everyone wants to talk about how trump implied i'm not to be believed as if trump is the model of kindness and forgiveness. as if he readily acknowledges his own short comings. i forgive him. thankfully my strength and worth are not dependent on outside belief. the truth exists whether the president accepts it or not. she also references others accused not only in politics but in entertainment. amidst the rash of sexual assault revelations born of the me too movement even i found myself questioning the accuser. i almost allowed my societal conditioning to override what my heart knows to be true. ab

. >> if the president does block this, willoughby -- weatherby -- will there be further action? >> they were getting hammered for trying to hide the minority response. the white house will -- i think it will be hard for the white house like it was hard for the committee to block the release of this. i'm more concerned they make political reductions and that is what we're going to insist the department of justice and the fbi report to us on what reductions they think are necessary so we can segregate any political from the white house. thenlike the process majority use, we want their input. they've had it for days. our memo will be going to the white house tonight so after deadline willday be taking. we fully expect in any rational process that the agencies are most heavily implicated would have the paramount in terms of what might be revealed as to sources and methods. any evidence that nunez has coordinated with the white house? those of us on the committee, this looks too much like a rerun. that's what place the day after james comey testified in our open session that since la

willoughby adding, despite mr. trump's dismissal, i want to ensure you that my truth has not been diminished. axios is reporting that some strongly encouraged him to stay and fight rather than resign. porter maintaining that he never misrepresented anything to kelly, as the white house continues to insist they were misl misled. >> he wasn't entirely forth coming, and i think the photos took everybody by surprise. >> reporter: a messy trail of conflicting statements. we are seeing the outcry stretch into a new week here on the day that the president is expected to unveil his $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan. >> right. we thank you very much. money. price tag is big. all right. so let's bring in the big shots. cnn political analysts david drucker and karoun dep. this is not the way the president put it in his tweet. it is not about stepping out on your spouse or workplace conduct. this is about violence and abuse. you have contemporaneous legal action. you have a black eye. you have two women with coordinated storie

jenni pi jenni will willoughby and reaction that came first on camera. watch this. >> he says he is innocent. i think you have to remember that. but we absolutely wish him well. >> and then on twitter, where the president lamented the loss of due process in these types of cases. and jennie willoughby, in light of the president's and the white house's continued dismissal of me and colbie, i want it assure you my thuj has not been diminished. i own my story and now that i have been compelled to share it, i'm not willing to cover it up for anyone. now trying to explain away the president's tweet, watch. >> the president's tweet yesterday was more generic. he never said the me too movement or rob porter's name. >> i think the tweet could be applied to a bunch of different people. i noticed rob porter wasn't mentioned. i wondered if the president was talking about his friend steve wynn who was accused and ba basically condemned without due process. >> thii think he is saddened wi what happened with rob. >> what does the president's reaction say about how he v

willoughby said porter punched the glass on the front door. i called police, she wrote. i was afraid he would break in. willoughby wrote on instagram in april, just after our one-year anniversary, he pull med naked and dripped from the shower to yell at me. when i tried to get help i was counseled to consider carefully that what i said might affect his career, and so i kept my mouth shut and stayed. >> is he going to be leaving the white house any time soon? >> he is going to be leaving the white house. it won't be immediate, but he is resigning from the white house, but he's going to stay on to ensure that there's a smooth transition. >> porter called the allegations outrageous and simply false. as staff secretary, porter once of president trump's closest aides, acting as the conduit for all written information given to mr. trump. before working at the white house, porter was chief of staff to utah republican senator orrin hatch. >> if i could find more people like him, i think that's how good he is. >> the fbi informed the white house in november about the domestic abu

and a police protective order filed by the other ex-wife, jennifer willoughby in 2010. she talked about why she took out that protective order. >> he came to the apartment where i was staying and refused to leave. and after he did ultimately leave and i closed the door and locked it behind him, he returned a moment later and punched in the glass. >> cnn has learned in recent weeks a third woman reached out to the white house with more allegations of abuse by porter and a warning that porter might harm the woman he's now dating, white house director hope hicks. when the news broke tuesday, the white house defended porter strongly. john kelly called him, quote, a man of true integrity and honor. after seeing the black eye photograph and the ensuing scandal, kelly then said he was shocked by the allegations. allegations it turned out he first heard about last november. do not mcgahn has known about problems with porter and his exwise longer than that, for more than a year. to be clear, senior white house officials but this these accusations and they protected porter and pr

willoughby adding, despite mr. trump's dismissal, i want to ensure you that my truth has not been diminished. axios is reporting that some senior white house officials strongly encouraged him to stay and fight rather than resign. porter maintaining he never reported anything. >> he wasn't entirely forth coming. the photographs took everybody by surprise. >> reporter: so as you can see, erica and chris, a messy trail of conflicting statements coming out of the white house as the outcry over this is stretching into a new week on the day that the president is expected to unveil his $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan. >> kaitlan, thank you very much. joining us now is david gregory and associate editor of real clear politics, a.b. stoddard. david, people will say, boy, you guys can't move off of this. how can we when we don't know what the story is? we haven't gotten a straight line. kellyanne conway said the right thing on the show yesterday. that's not a unified voice coming out of the white house. >> no. it's a mess.

jennifer willoughby is not hiding. she's submitted to an extensive television interview earlier tonight on cnn. she has appeared on video now in multiple interviews. you can look at her. you can judge her credibility. but you can't do that with john kelly because john kelly is highing. john kelly is afraid of stepping up to the microphone looking into those cameras and answering questions about what he knew and when he knew it and why he continued to fight for rob porter's job even after he saw the black eye photos. >> joining us now ruth marcus, deputy editorial page editor from the "washington post" and joyce vance, former u.s. attorney for the northern district of alabama and a professor at the university of alabama school of law, andness price spokesperson for the national security council and a former cia analyst. he's an msnbc national security analyst. ruth, i just want to get your reaction because this is a moving story with new elements coming out by the hour. your reaction about where this story stands tonigh

porter's first ex-wife, jennie willoughby is writing in "time" magazine. nation don't see my story of abuse where overwhelming evidence, what hope do others have of being heard? the white house is now rolling out infrastructure week. >> thank you, joshlg. >>> to a big change that may be coming to the way your packages are delivered. amazon, they're at it again. ek employering the idea of taking a step in the shipping business. taking on fedex and u.p.s. rebecca jarvis is here. how is this going to work out? >> good morning, michael. is there any business amazon is not trying to get point? this is the company helped fuel boom in online shopping. now they want to own more of that process. later this year, amazon is expected to pick up packages from brick and mortar businesses and deliver them to consumers. they'll test this service in los angeles before rolling out to more consumers around the country later this year. am zon is not outright confirming it. but they're not disputing it. telling us, we're always infoe rate issing and experiments on behalf of cu

porter's second wife, jenny willoughby, tells "the intercept," "he came to the shower and grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me out of the shower to continue arguing." after an incident in 2010, willoughby filed for a protective order, telling authorities, "he punched in the glass on the door. i called the police, afraid he would break in." the allegations seeming to catch many in the west wing by surprise. does the president have any concerns about these domestic violence allegations raised against rob porter? >> i haven't spoken to him about specific concerns. >> reporter: you haven't talked to the president about this -- >> about whether or not he has specific concerns, i haven't asked him that question. >> reporter: has he seen the photos of rob porter's ex-wife with a black eye? >> i don't know. >> cecilia vega live with us from the white house tonight. and cecilia, we know rob porter is one of the president's top aides. porter's own words today, calling this a smear campaign. as you reported there, the white house making it very clear that he was not pushed out. >> reporter

jennifer willoughby is not hiding. she's submitted to an extensive television interview earlier tonight on cnn. she has appeared on video now in multiple interviews. you can look at her. you can judge her credibility. but you can't do that with john kelly because john kelly is highing. john kelly is afraid of stepping up to the microphone looking into those cameras and answering questions about what he knew and when he knew it and why he continued to fight for rob porter's job even after he saw the black eye photos. >> joining us now ruth marcus, deputy editorial page editor from the "washington post" and joyce vance, former u.s. attorney for the northern district of alabama and a professor at the university of alabama school of law, andness price spokesperson for the national security council and a former cia analyst. he's an msnbc national security analyst. ruth, i just want to get your reaction because this is a moving story with new elements coming out by the hour. your reaction about where this story stands tonigh

porter's second wife, jennifer willoughby tells "the washington post" newspaper that porter once dragged her from the shower after an argument. >> he came and grabbed me by the shoulders here and pulled me out of the shower in a rage. immediately on seeing the terror in my face, retracted and apologized and changed composure immediately. >> the allegation is years and years of abuse. both women say they told fbi agents about the abuse during porter's security clearance investigation. they go back and check with former wives. they say they told the fbi about all of it. fox news cannot confirm they got that clearance. listen to this. then we're told that the fbi went to the white house and said here are the allegations. and that that was some time ago. months ago. only once the picture came out did anything change. john roberts is live for us at the white house this afternoon. quite a web of people close to this president, john. >> yeah, there's no question about that. we're talking about the very closest orbit in an around the president. what we're trying to do and what we're hoping to do

his second wife, jennie willoughby, telling "the washington post" she did not hold back. >> i told them all of the details of my marriage, including verbal and emotional abuse. >> reporter: when the story first broke, white house aides praised porter, one of the president's top aides, who is also romantically linked to white house communications director hope hicks. >> the president and chief of staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities and his performance. >> reporter: white house chief of staff john kelly called porter "a man of true integrity and honor." but last night, with that picture of porter's first wife out in public view, kelly issued a second statement, saying that he was "shocked by the new allegations" and that "there is no place for domestic violence." but kelly adding, "i stand by my previous comments and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation." and now, sources tell abc news, high level white house officials have actually known about the accusations against porter for months. so what did kelly know and when did he know it?

. >> that was porter's second wife jennifer willoughby. this is his first wife colby holderness with a black eye. and this is what white house jeef chief of staff -- chief of staff john kelly said yesterday. rob porter is a man of true integrity and honor and i can't say enough good things about him. overnight he amended that some. i was shocked by the new allegations released today against rob porter. there is no place for domestic violence in our society. i stand by my previous comments of the rob porter i have come to know. now leave aside the standing by the integrity and honor part. despite the allegations. focus on the shock part. why was john kelly shocked? how could he be shocked? look at the timeline here. in january of 2017, both ex-wives shared stories with the fbi. in the fall of 2017 kelly and top aides became aware of abuse allegations and security clearance issues. and in recent weeks politico reports an ex-girlfriend contacted the white house counsel. so john kelly knew or should have known about the allegations, yet did no

jenny willoughby writes in "time" magazine, time.com, in light of the president's and the white house tea's continued dismissal of me and colbie, i want to share that my truth will not be zmidiminished. for any men, women, and children currently in situation of abuse, please know it is real. you are not crazy, you are not alone. i believe you. jenny willoughby's op-ed comes after the president tweeted, people's lives are being shattered by mere allegations. the white house defending trump's comments today. take a listen. >> i've seen that when the president is saying, talking about due process, he's right in this way. we are a country of laws. there is due process. that's absolutely correct. but we as individuals have a duty to assess every -- everybody on a case-by-case basis. and in this case, you have contemporaneous police reports, you have women speaking to the fbi under the threat of perjury, you have police reports, you have photographs. and when you look at all of that pulled together, you realize that rob porter did the right thing by resigning. >> it sounds like you believe

the president's statement drawing heated response from jennie willoughby. writing everyone is talking about i'm not to be believed as trump is a model of kindness and forgi forgiveness. i forgive him. thankfully my strength and worth are not dependent on outside worth. the truth exists whether the president believes it or not. >>> and he plans to meet with the fbi to talk about the memo. this memo is the rebuttal over the fbi surveillance abuses. claiming it contains classified passages. democrats call that hypocrisy because the fbi warned against the release of the republicans memo and the president did any way. >>> ahead of the week's florida debate and it comes from the chambers conservative members. this includes a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million immigrants in exchange for a border wall and even channhance security. also included is tighter immigration enforcement and limited family visas. mitch mcconnell is offering different proposals to compete for the 60 votes needed to advance. >>> one of the conservative voices is raising concern of leaders

willoughby accusing president trump of setting a frightening tone for the nation. and she says he delivered a clear message, quote, if the most powerful people in the nation don't believe my story of abuse in the face of overwhelming evidence, then what hope do others have of being heard? over the weekend, the president fanning the flames with this tweet. peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. is there no such thing any longer as due process? porter denies the allegations. the white house now doing damage control. >> does the president believe that rob porter is falsely accused? >> rob porter no longer works at the white house. the president believes as he said the other day you have to consider all sides. >> reporter: at the center of the controversy, chief of staff john kelly, who initially showered public praise on porter. now president trump furious at kelly and white house communications director hope hicks, who is romantically linked to porter. sources tell abc news kelly told president trump he would be willing to resign. >> i

jennifer willoughby says the abuse began shortly after she married porter in 2009. black eye after their 2003 ed their accounts to nbc news with holderness claiming that porter choked and verbally abused her. this morning there are growing questions about when white house officials first learned of the allegations. according to one former white house official chief of staff john kelly was made aware of some of the allegations of domestic abuse months earlier. kelly defended porter tuesday, calling him a man of true integrity, but overnight saying in a statement in part there's no place for domestic violence in our society. one white house official says porter could be out as early as today. meantime senator leaders reached a broad long-term spending deal just one day before tonight's government shutdown deadline. the senate deal would add hundreds of billions of dollars in military and domestic spending over the next two years. just about 24 hours ago, president trump threatened a shutdown if he didn't get his way on immigration. that issue is not addressed in th st

made in regards to rob porter the fbi talked to both of the ex-wives, one of the ex-wives jennifer willoughbyed a complaint. credible sources, there were credible information that this had happened. the white house chose to keep rob porter on board. >> that's the point. this is the process. >> this is the process, this is due process and the fact that is, again in this tweet this morning, no mention of the women. >> no mention of the women. >> somebody's life who is ruined, talk a lot of women who are strong enough to talk about it like jennifer willoughby. >> the white house has defended rob porter, roy moore in alabama and those allegations of child molestation, allegations against steve bannon of violence. of course, the largest picture in the center is the president himself who has been accused of sexual advances, unwanted advances to more than a dozen women. again, this is the response from the president weighing in now. is there no such thing any longer as due process? no mention of the women now these allegations of domestic abusz. >> coming right after speech writer david sorensen lef

. >>> the president's statement drawing heated response from jennie willoughby. she writes, everyone wants to talk about how i am not to be believed. as trump is a model of kindness and forgiveness. i forgive him. thankfully my strength and worth are not dependent on outside belief. the truth exists whether the president accepts it or not. >>> the ranking democrat on the house intelligence kmcommittee will hear concerns over the democratic memo. this is a rebuttal alleging fbi surveillance abuses. the white house last week barred publication of the democrats memo claiming it has classified information. democrats calling that hypocr y hypocrisy. the fbi warned against releasing the republican memo and the white house did it any way. >>> the version of the immigration plan from the president ahead of the floor debate. it comes from the chamber's conservative members and has the proposals outlined by the president. it has a pathway to citizenship for eligible immigrants in exchange for a border wall and security. a number of new laws make it easier to detain and dep

jennifer willoughby says it began shortly after they married in 2008.ye after their 2003 wedding. both women affirmed accounts to nbc news, alleging she was choked and verbally abused. questions about when white house officials first learned of the allegations. according to one white house official, chief of staff john kelly was made aware of some of the allegations of domestic abuse months earlier. kelly defended porter tuesday calling him a man of true integrity and overnight saying in a statement overnight "there is no place for domestic violence in our society." one official says he could be out as early as today. and senate leaders reached a broad long-term spending bill just one day before the government shutdown. adding millions to military and domestic spending over the next two hours. just about 24 hours ago, president trump threatened a shutdown if he didn't get his way. president trump says we must is support our troops and support this bill. >> thank you. >>> vice president pence is at the winter olympics and saying the u.s. stands firmly wi

. >> willoughby has also confirmed her account, that account with us at nbc news. further, nbc news has obtained a 2010 protective order in which willoughby told police that porter ignored multiple requests to leave her home during their separation. that at one point he punched through a payne ne of glass andd she was afraid he was going to break in. >>> an official told nbc news white house chief of staff john kelly was aware of the allegations of abuse before the story broke. and as if this wasn't enough, porter is reportedly dating white house communications director hope hicks who plays a role, of course, in all public statements from the white house, including those [ experiencing technical difficulties ] white house correspondent for mcclatchy newspapers. anita kumar also a white house correspondent for mcclatchy newspapers. we welcome back john ralston, veteran political reporter and editor of the nevada independent. welcome to you all. anita, i'll start with you. last night in my office, i held in my hand printed out a one-page collection of quotes and prai

jen willoughby made it very clear she'd made her concerns very clear to the fbi and that i asked her if she was pressed on whether she thought he could be subject to blackmail and her response to that was effectively if anyone was going to blackmail rob porter it would be one of these women who he had been in a relationship with and her final answer was maybe. i spoke to colbie holderness, his first ex-wife, who said she was more affirmative in her answer to that question. that she felt he could be subject to blackmail. she has been very open about th this. she made it very clear that the reason she made it public is not because she and colbie holderness went to news outlets but because they were tracked down by the media so they're speaking out about their experiences. i think this is a challenge for this white house which has had to answer tough questions about treatment of women in the past. the me too movement particularly you'll recall in its defense of roy moore, that was a very thorny issue for this white house and it could potentially become not only a moral issue, an issue f

this is jennifer willoughby's reasons. excuse me because there is some language here buchlt this is her point. the first time he called me an f'ing bitch was on our honeymoon. i found out years later he had kicked his first wife on theirs. a month later he physically prevented me from leaving the house. less than two months after that i filed a protective order with police because he punched in the glass in our front door while i was locked inside. we bought a house to make up for it. after our first anniversary, he pulled me from the shower yelling at me. everyone loved him. strangers complimented him to me every time we went out but in my home, the abuse was insidious. the threats were personal. the terror was real and yet i stayed. when i tried to get help, i was counseled to consider carefully how, what i said, might affect his career. so, i kept my mouth shut and stayed. i was told, yes, he was deeply flawed. but then again, so was i. and so i worked on myself and i stayed. if he was a monster all the time, perhaps it

porter's second ex-wife jennifer willoughby told "the daily mail" porter dragged her wet and naked outf the shower and was verbally abusive. nbc news has obtained a 2015 protective order where willoughby told police porter ignored her multiple requests to leave her home and at one point punched in the glass on the door. i called the police afraid that he was break in. a former white house official says chief of staff john kelly was aware of the allegations of abuse before the story broke. two sources familiar with the matter tell nbc news it is believed porter was never given full security clearance, although it's not clear why. the administration now is defense. >> i think that was a personal decision that rob made and one that he was not pressured to do, but one that he made on his own. >> the white house is not commenting on porter's security clearance. one other layer to this, porter is reportedly dating communications director hope hicks who plays a role in all public statements from the white house, including those that were sent out last night in porter's defense. >> thanks to k

and i spoke with jennifer willoughby yesterday prior to her interview today on "today" with savannah. and she told me what she told the fbi, which is that she did relay these stories of abuse including one in which she says she was dragged out of the shower naked aggressively by her ex-husband, rob porter, and then in another instant she had to get a protective order against him during their separation. and he according to willoughby broke a glass, she was terrified, she called plirks she wasn't sure what he was going to do next. so these are the types of stories she said she told the fbi during that background check and the interview that she conducted with them. i also asked her if the fbi pressed her on whether or not he could be subject to blackmail. she shenandoah says she answere question saying maybe. and i spoke to colby hole die s holderness, his first wife, she said there were a number of women abused by him. so it is our sense that that information was relayed to the white house. and according to one source familiar with the conversations, chief of staff john kelly was brie

jenni pi jenni will willoughby and reaction that came first on camera. says he is innocent. i think you have to remember that. but we absolutely wish him well. >> and then on twitter, where the president lamented the loss of due process in these types of cases. and jennie willoughby, in light of the president's and the white house's continued dismissal of me and colbie, i want it assure you my thuj has not been diminished. i own my story and now that i have been compelled to share it, i'm not willing to cover it up for anyone.

now, jennifer willoughby, the second ex-wife on television talking more about this publicly. here is what she said to say about the interactions she's had with rob porter since their marriage ended. >> another thing that he wanted me to say was that i had taken some liberties with this their pewter post, which it was for me,i had taken liberties with that their pewter post. i didn't. he was asking me to down play it. he was asking me to emphasize more the relationship that he and i have now as opposed to what i experienced in our marriage. >> so willoughby says her interactions with porter continued up until even this week when all of this was exploding out into the public sphere. she also expressed some concern for hope hicks, again, the white house communications director who is in a romantic relationship with rob porter. erica? >> abby phillip at the white house, thank you. >>> joining me to discuss cnn political analyst alex burns and josh dawsey and cnn contributor salena zito. i want to tick through a list of some of the things that have happened since the last governme

>>> we're also going to hear new comments from one of rob porter's ex-wives, jennie wi willough willoughby. >> did you want him to lose the job? >> no. i've been clear, he is good at his job and i liked that he was in that administration. but this is a on consequence of his actions. [ click, keyboard clacking ] [ keyboard clacking ] [ click, keyboard clacking ] ♪ good questions lead to good answers. our advisors can help you find both. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. yours. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. it's 6 am. 40 million americans are waking up to a gillette shave. and at our factory in boston, more than a thousand workers are starting their day building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - the best a man can get. >>> welcome

he tried to pressure one of the women into -- >> jennie willoughby -- >> there are reports coming outthe white house that he was misleading people in the white house about what happened. we don't know what he told the fbi. this was not someone worth defending before or after the information became public, and all of it hurt the president and the presidency today. >> so why -- >> and that is a terrible thing. >> why does the president of the united states defend him today? >> i don't know. i don't know. but for his presidency and for the way women and really all americans are going to view the way he looks into these things, i worry that no one is saying, mr. president, the long-term view of how you're going to be perceived on handling this cultural movement at this time of your presidency is being damaged. >> tara, there's now a second white house staffer, david sorensen resigning over domestic abuse allegations. that that is a sign that the white house might be looking to establish backgrounds more -- >> i think it means the wool is being pulled back now because they have no choice.

but willoughby points out the unsettling truth, that the president's opinion reflects what many, even at the height of me too, believe. she writes, we are at a critical moment in history and there are flee things i know to be true. where there is anger there is underlying pain. where there is denial, there is underlying fear. where there is abuse, there is cover up. >>> we're going to bring in our panel now. joining us at the table, a.b. stott ard, columnist for real clear politics. donnie deutsche, brett stevens, op-ed columnist and msnbc contributor and elise jordan, form former aide in the w. bush white house. kim is still with us. a.b., what do you think? >> i think that we have to in the end find out what actually was going on, who lied, or what the fbi might have withheld. we doubt that they did withhold anything. when people learned what, just for some sense of accountability, but it's clear that this administration, this white house, this west wing, they play by their own rules, and partial security clearances are fine because the president's son-in-law has one. and there's no

chief of staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities and performance. >> reporter: willoughby president trump for appearing to take the side of her ex-husband over her word. >>> president trump is urging congress to pass what he calls the biggest and boldest infrastructure investment in american history. mr. trump made his case today during a meeting with a group of lcal and state officials, including governors, state legislators and mayors. >> the framework will generate an unprecedented $1.5 to $1$1 trillion investment in american infrastructure. we'll have a lot of public-private and that way it gets done on time, on budget. >> president trump's plan envisions using $200 billion in federal money to leverage local and state dollars to fix roads, highways, ports and airports. some groups including the american society of civil engineers say the investment is too small, claiming more than $2 trillion is needed to fix america's crumbling infrastructure. >>> a new report says the trump administration is poised to cut off funding to the international space station. according to "

the second ex-wife is jennifer willoughby, we just saw her speak obviously a few moments ago.he married porter in 2009. she also described to me deep emotional abuse from porter and she also said that things sometimes got physical, for example, in 2010, when he punched a glass pane in the front door and the police had to come. she says the police recommended she take out a protective order against him, so she did that. and later in the year is when she says that the shower incident happened, where they had a fight. she was in the shower afterwards and he came in and grabbed her by the shoulders, making her feel very frightened. now, john, an additional twist to the story is that both of the ex-wives tell me they were contacted last year, by a woman claiming to be porter's ex-girlfriend and that she told them that she was also abused by porter and that she was essentially reaching out to them for help. this is one message that she wrote to one of the ex-wives. she said, i work in politics, and despite rob's repeated abuse, some of which i think may be known about, he continues

so here is jennifer willoughby. >> do you believe her? >> of course i believe her. of course i believe her. >> you think he's capable of that? >> i believe her. >> what would it mean to you when you sat with her and the two of you looked across the table from each other and shared this experience. >> it is so isolating to be -- i mention the shame but it is also the isolation that you don't -- you don't really feel like you could talk to anybody about it or anybody would understand. and so to meet colby and to hear her story and recognize that we both had that experience was a release. >> reporter: so the first comments from the president today about rob porter fit a pattern we've seen a number of times. and that may be just the way he thinks about the issues or reflex when asked about the controversial situations. >> thank you for your reporting. kelly o'donnell at the white house. it is hard to overstate how long senior members of the white house may have known about what they now call shocking and troubling allegations about rob porter. according to the washingto