Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called for chief of staff John Kelly to resign over his handling of the abuse allegations against former White House aide Rob Porter, saying Kelly “is presiding over a White House that is in chaos and dysfunction.”
Waters tweeted that Kelly was “complicit in both Rob Porter and Jared Kushner working at the highest levels of government without security clearance.” The Trump administration is facing scrutiny after some officials were revealed to be working without full security clearances, including Kushner.
She said he was also “complicit in knowing that Porter had a history of wife beating.”
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“This would’ve been revealed in the investigative reports that were so clearly identified by FBI Director Wray when he testified before the United States Senate,” Waters tweeted.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate earlier this month that the FBI had completed its investigation into Porter in July, contradicting the White House’s timeline of the background check. He said the White House had requested a follow-up report in November.
Waters also said that Kelly “couldn’t keep his lies straight” about the allegations against Porter.
Kelly had initially defended Porter after both his ex-wives came forward with allegations of domestic abuse against him. He shifted his tone, however, after more details of the allegations emerged, including photos of Porter’s first wife with a black eye.
He later said he was “shocked” by the claims.
“This is the same person who lied on Rep.Wilson. Even after video proved him a liar, he refused to apologize,” Waters tweeted, referring to Kelly’s past statements on Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.)
The chief of staff had claimed that Wilson had taken credit for getting an FBI building funded, but video later disproved his statement. Kelly’s criticism of the congresswoman came amid a controversy involving President Trump’s call to a Gold Star widow, which Wilson had been present for. After Wilson criticized Trump for his handling of the call, Kelly publicly stated that he was “stunned” that she would have listened in on the conversation.
Waters has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration, including Kelly. She has slammed Kelly for his handling of the Porter allegations before, saying “he has no credibility.”