Rob Porter, a top White House aide and former chief of staff to Sen. Orrin Hatch, has resigned after allegations of spousal abuse.
Porter is accused of domestic violence by two of his ex-wives. Before joining the Trump administration as a staff secretary, Porter was Hatch’s top aide from 2014-2017. He also worked for Sen. Mike Lee and taught at BYU.
In a statement issued by his office, Hatch said he was “heartbroken” by the allegations and called Porter a trusted advisor.
Hatch Statement on Rob Porter’s Resignation https://t.co/KULV2475SR pic.twitter.com/2c6xOOfLP4
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) February 7, 2018
But he was far more defensive in comments to reporters. He told an NBC reporter he’d have preferred Porter not to resign and work through his problems.
Q: If allegations about Porter are true would you employ him?
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) February 7, 2018
HATCH: "That's a Q I'm not going to answer, because he worked for me, he did a tremendous job. If I could find more people like him I would hire them, I think that's how good he is. And he's basically a good person"
