US president Donald Trump praised during the meeting his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, for performing well in the White House and cautioned reporters to keep in mind that he has denied allegations of domestic violence. Olivier Douliery / Bloomberg
US president Donald Trump praised during the meeting his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, for performing well in the White House and cautioned reporters to keep in mind that he has denied allegatioShow more

Second White House aide resigns over domestic abuse claims



A second White House staffer in a week resigned on Friday over domestic abuse claims, in a widening scandal that called into question the president's judgment and tainted his chief of staff John Kelly and longtime aide Hope Hicks.

White House speechwriter David Sorensen denied his wife's claims of abuse, but resigned — hours after president Donald Trump was criticised for wishing staff secretary Rob Porter a "wonderful career" after he too resigned amid similar accusations.

Mr Porter — who denies abuse alleged by two ex-wives, one of whom released a photo of herself with a black eye — worked at the heart of the White House throughout the first year of the Trump administration, despite being denied full security clearance.

He only stepped down from his post on Wednesday after the accusations became public.

Mr Trump, who has himself been accused of sexual harassment or assault by two dozen women, fuelled the scandal by praising Mr Porter and suggesting he had a bright future.

He made no mention of the ex-wives or the alleged domestic abuse.

"We certainly wish him well, and it's a tough time for him," Mr Trump said in the Oval Office.

"He did a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career and he will have a great career ahead of him."

"As you probably know, he says he's innocent, and I think you have to remember that."

That prompted a sharp rebuke from Democrats like Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who slammed the White House's "culture of misogyny".

Chief of Staff John Kelly was aware of the allegations and also praised Mr Porter's conduct in the White House, maintaining that "every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation".

Ms Hicks, perhaps Mr Trump's most trusted aide, had helped craft the response to the scandal as White House communications director, despite being romantically involved with Mr Porter.

Deputy White House spokesman Raj Shah said the White House only learned late Thursday about allegations against Mr Sorensen, the speechwriter.

"We immediately confronted the staffer, he denied the allegations and he resigned today," Mr Shah said.

Mr Sorensen's ex-wife Jessica Corbett told The Washington Post that while they were married, he ran a car over her foot, extinguished a cigarette on her hand, threw her into a wall and grabbed her by her hair, but that she did not report the incidents due to her then-husband's connections to law enforcement.

While Mr Sorensen's post as a Council on Environmental Quality speechwriter did not require security clearance, Ms Corbett said she had described his behaviour to the FBI as it conducted an ongoing background check of Mr Sorensen in the fall.

__________________

Read more

White House chief said to have been alerted on aide's past

Trump aide to leave White House after abuse allegations

__________________

"It's alarming Rob Porter remained in an influential role," said Democratic Representative Ann McLane Kuster, "even as revelations about his domestic abuse were apparently known among senior Trump staffers".

Trump confidant and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski — who was formerly romantically involved with Ms Hicks — pointed a finger of blame at former Marine corps general Kelly.

"The general is there to put in policies and processes and procedures. And in this case, those didn't work and we need to find out why," he told Fox News.

The White House was forced to quell rumours that Kelly was ready to resign.

Mr Trump and "many" White House staffers were irritated by Mr Kelly's support for Mr Porter's character and for falsely insisting that he aggressively sought to have him fired once the abuse allegations surfaced, according to The New York Times.

Vice president Mike Pence, who is attending the Olympics in South Korea, tried to distance himself from the issue, but also stressed in an NBC interview that "there is no tolerance in this White House, no place in America for domestic abuse".

Mr Trump was elected promising to bring "the best people" with him to "drain the swamp" in Washington.

In reality, he has struggled to hire high-caliber staff, with many experienced Washington operatives keeping their distance.

"A lot of us could have done better," Mr Shah told reporters in a rare show of contrition from the Trump White House.

Mr Shah refused to confirm in detail when and how Mr Kelly in particular became aware of the claims, or Ms Hicks's role in shaping the White House response.

Until hours before the Harvard graduate left his post, the White House was praising him as an upstanding and integral member of staff.

"Rob Porter has been effective in his role as staff secretary. The president and chief of staff have full confidence in his abilities and his performance," said spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Porter's ex-wife Jennifer Willoughby detailed allegations of abuse, saying that during her marriage she lived under a "low-grade constant terror of not knowing what I might do to set something off".

The Trump administration has been beset by scandal and staff departures.

Mr Porter had been a rare staffer inside the White House who knew Washington, was widely respected and was seen as good at his job.

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face

The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran. 

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf. 

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said. 

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer. 

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy. 

 

Ashes 2019 schedule

August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston

August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's

August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley

September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford

September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval

The Cairo Statement

 1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations

2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred

3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC  

4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.

5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.

6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clinicy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Prince%20Mohammed%20Bin%20Abdulrahman%2C%20Abdullah%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%20and%20Saud%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2025%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20More%20than%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Gate%20Capital%2C%20Kafou%20Group%20and%20Fadeed%20Investment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

While you're here
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”