Ex-wife of Rob Porter fires back at White House amid abuse scandal

Jennie Willoughby, an ex-wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, fired back at President Trump and the White House after Trump praised Porter following domestic abuse allegations.

In a piece published in Time, Willoughby wrote about how it felt to watch Trump and other members of the White House come to Porter’s defense, even after Porter announced he was resigning following multiple reports that he was abusive to his ex-wives, including Willoughby. 

“I can’t say I was surprised. But when Donald Trump repeated twice that Rob declared his innocence, I was floored,” she wrote.

“What was his intent in emphasizing that point? My friend turned to me and said, ‘The President of the United States just called you a liar.’ Yes. And so he did,” she wrote.

{mosads}She also cited Trump’s tweet Saturday in which he said lives are being ruined by “a mere allegation” and questioned whether there was “such thing any longer as Due Process?”

“There it is again. The words ‘mere allegation’ and ‘falsely accused’ meant to imply that I am a liar. That Colbie Holderness is a liar,” she wrote. “That the work Rob was doing in the White House was of higher value than our mental, emotional or physical wellbeing. That his professional contributions are worth more than the truth. That abuse is something to be questioned and doubted.”

Willoughby went on to write in Time that the issue is deeper than Trump. Society as a whole, she said, has a “fear of addressing our worst secrets.”