[van id=”politics/2018/02/10/trump-lives-being-shattered-allegations-tweet-nr.cnn”]
By Jennifer Hansler and Sophie Tatum
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to lament that “lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation” in the wake of the resignations of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter and speechwriter David Sorensen following allegations of domestic abuse.
“Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation,” the President tweeted. “Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused – life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?”
Porter abruptly resigned from his post at the White House on Wednesday amid abuse allegations from two ex-wives, who detailed to CNN what they said were years of consistent abuse from Porter, including incidents of physical violence. Porter has denied those allegations, calling them “outrageous allegations are simply false.”
Trump told reporters on Friday that Porter’s departure was “very sad” and that “he did a very good job while he was in the White House.” The President did not express any sympathy for the women Porter allegedly abused, instead focusing on Porter’s claim of innocence.
White House chief of staff John Kelly knew for months about some claims that Porter physically and emotionally battered two ex-wives, yet didn’t conduct an internal investigation into their veracity, sources told CNN. In that time, Porter’s stock in the White House continued to rise. By early fall, it was widely known among Trump’s top aides both that Porter was facing troubles in obtaining a security clearance and that his ex-wives claimed he had abused them. No action was taken to remove him from the staff.
Sorensen also resigned this week after being accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, White House spokesman Raj Shah confirmed Friday. Sorensen denied the allegations, saying he has “never committed violence of any kind against any woman in my entire life,” and alleging that he “was the victim of repeated physical violence” during his marriage.
Trump’s tweet drew backlash from some on social media, including third-ranking Senate Democrat Patty Murray.
“Women’s lives are upended every day by sexual violence and harassment. I’m going to keep standing with them, and trusting them, even if the President won’t,” the Washington senator tweeted, along with a subtweet of Trump’s original message.
The Senate’s most senior member, Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, also expressed support for victims.
“As a former prosecutor, I’ve been amazed by the bravery & sacrifice required of victims to come forward. Their lives are forever changed,” Leahy tweeted. “Due process is critical, but it can’t be a pretext for not believing women. We don’t need to see photos of bruises to know that.”
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