Lewandowski: ‘Somebody knew’ about Porter abuse allegations

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said Monday that “somebody” in the White House knew about the allegations of domestic abuse against former staff secretary Rob Porter prior to his resignation.

“We saw a problem in the White House a few months back where an individual who shouldn’t have been there continued to have access to information. And that was a failure somewhere,” Lewandowski said on CNN’s “New Day,” referring to Porter.

“Somebody knew. And the question was what did they know and when did they know it,” he added.

Lewandowski himself has been accused of sexual misconduct and of grabbing a reporter at a Trump campaign rally.

Porter resigned last month after allegations he abused his two ex-wives became public. Multiple White House officials, including President Trump and chief of staff John Kelly, praised Porter’s character after the allegations were published.

Kelly in particular has come under scrutiny for the handling of Porter’s resignation. He has not explained why he did not cut ties with Porter after the FBI notified the White House months before Porter resigned about the allegations that turned up during his background check.

Kelly on Friday said the White House “didn’t cover ourselves in glory” with its handling of the allegations. However, he defended his decision to back Porter initially, saying he was unaware of claims of physical abuse at the time.

Kelly also came under fire when it was revealed that Porter was allowed to see highly classified information even though he was unable to pass a background check for a security clearance.

That revelation prompted a new policy on temporary security clearances. Several White House aides, including Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, had their clearances downgraded from “top secret” to “secret” as a result.