To no one’s surprise, it appears that one of Donald Trump’s closest advisors is a serial abuser of women and both his ex-wives describe his attacks on them and have provided photos of their bruises. After initially defending him as a person of great integrity and honor and trying to retain him, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly now says that he was shocked to hear of the allegations.

Really? People who get to work in the White House have to undergo background checks before they get hired and that was so in this case

During the background interviews for Porter’s security clearance related to his senior White House role, FBI agents interviewed the two women. The former wives told the FBI that Porter was abusive during their marriages, according to interviews with the women. For Porter, the FBI interviews marked a collision of his professional ascendancy and his sometimes violent private life.

There is no way that Trump and Kelly did not know of Porter’s history and their lies about this have already been contradicted. They simply did not care and hoped it would never become public. They and their enablers were willing to go to the mat for this abuser.

Before this report detailing Holderness’s account of her marriage, the White House offered broad support for Porter in the Daily Mail article. Porter told the tabloid, “I will not comment about these matters, beyond stating that many of these allegations are slanderous and simply false.”

Kelly praised him to the Daily Mail. “Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him,” Kelly said. “He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional.”

Sanders, the White House spokesperson, offered equally effusive praise in his defense. “I have worked directly with Rob Porter nearly every day for the last year and the person I know is someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character,” Sanders told the Daily Mail.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, one of Porter’s previous employers, told the Daily Mail that the allegations against Porter came from “character assassins.”

“It’s incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man,” Hatch said. “Shame on any publication that would print this — and shame on the politically motivated, morally bankrupt character assassins that would attempt to sully a man’s good name.”

Porter has now resigned. Maybe the White House will hire Quentin Tarantino for Porter’s position. He seems to be the kind of person that would fit in well with them.