--- title: Rob Porter Resignation: Did He Have a Security Clearance? description: Experts said the hiring of top aide Rob Porter raises serious questions of how it is being handled in the Trump Administration. canonical: https://time.com/5139427/rob-porter-domestic-violence-security-clearance/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-09T03:27:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:57:19.237Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rob Porter's Resignation Raises Questions About White House Vetting og:description: Experts said the hiring of top aide Rob Porter raises serious questions of how it is being handled in the Trump Administration. og:url: https://time.com/5139427/rob-porter-domestic-violence-security-clearance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9b0cb46aecdd983/6988faed86f68e6c7d6e82e0/rob-porter-domestic-abuse-allegations-resignation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4330 og:image:height: 2436 og:image:alt: President Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rob Porter's Resignation Raises Questions About White House Vetting twitter:description: Experts said the hiring of top aide Rob Porter raises serious questions of how it is being handled in the Trump Administration. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9b0cb46aecdd983/6988faed86f68e6c7d6e82e0/rob-porter-domestic-abuse-allegations-resignation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rob Porter's Resignation Raises Questions About White House Vetting > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ac97d38c-5238-4f07-97c2-b4691a9828b8&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Rob Porter's Resignation Raises Questions About White House Vetting [Watch (HLS stream): Rob Porter's Resignation Raises Questions About White House Vetting](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rQIg0Tgm.m3u8) (2:49)  _Published 2018-02-09. Experts on the security clearance process used for White House staffers said the hiring of top aide Rob Porter raises serious questions of how it is being handled in the Trump Administration._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Feb 9, 2018 3:27 AM UTC Experts on the security clearance process used for White House staffers said the hiring of top aide Rob Porter raises serious questions of how it is being handled in the Trump Administration.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Feb 9, 2018 3:27 AM UTC Experts on the security clearance process used for White House staffers said the hiring of top aide Rob Porter raises serious questions of how it is being handled in the Trump Administration. Porter resigned Wednesday after his two ex-wives [detailed allegations of domestic violence](http://time.com/5139760/rob-porter-donald-trump-domestic-violence/) to the [_Daily Mail_](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5362823/Ex-wife-WH-aide-dating-Hope-Hicks-says-choked-her.html), which also published a restraining order filed in 2010 and a photograph of the abuse. Both said they had [notified the FBI](http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/07/politics/rob-porter-ex-wives-white-house/index.html) about the abuse during his vetting for a security clearance. At a White House press briefing Thursday, Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters that Porter had been working under a temporary clearance and that a permanent one had been held up because of the allegations, although it had never been denied. (The FBI declined to comment to TIME.) As staff secretary, Porter had [one of the most important roles](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senior-white-house-official-to-resign-following-allegations-of-abuse/2018/02/07/49aa80b8-0c19-11e8-baf5-e629fc1cd21e%5Fstory.html?hpid=hp%5Fhp-top-table-main%5Ftrumpporter-155p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm%5Fterm=.f79770085aa1) in the White House, filtering the information that reached Trump’s desk and serving as an enforcer for White House Chief of Staff [John Kelly](http://time.com/4895137/why-john-kelly-is-president-trumps-last-hope/). In that role, he would have needed a security clearance to see classified information that is passed to the president. Applicants for a security clearance are required to to fill out an extensive form, [the SF86](https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf%5Ffill/sf86-non508.pdf). The form asks the applicant to disclose if there are any current restraining orders against them, and if they have been “a party to any public record civil court action not listed elsewhere on this form” in the past decade.The form states that “withholding, misrepresenting, or falsifying information may affect your eligibility for access to classified information, eligibility for a sensitive position, or your ability to obtain or retain Federal or contract employment.” Laura Terrell, an attorney who worked in the White House Clearance Counsel during the George W. Bush Administration from 2004 to 2005, told TIME that if Porter was applying for a clearance he would have probably to disclose a 2010 protective order from his second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, in response to the question about public record civil court action, because in Virginia, a protective order is issued in a civil proceeding. “It seems clear the form calls for that,” she wrote in an e-mail. Leaving this information off the form, she explained, would have been a “serious omission.” If authorities were following protocol, Terrell said, that disclosure would have been sent to the White House Counsel’s office. Based on her experiences reviewing security clearance applications, she said it is highly likely that approval would have gone even higher up the chain, to the chief of staff — which would have been Reince Priebus or Kelly depending on when the information was received — for further consideration. Shah declined to say what Kelly knew about the allegations, only stating that he became fully aware this week after he saw the photos of Porter’s first wife, Colbie Holderness, with a black eye. But Terrell said that it was already unusual that even a temporary clearance would have been accepted. “I don’t think it would have happened in the Bush White House. I think that that would have raised enough concerns that someone would not have been granted a provisional clearance,” she said. “I just don’t see that it would have been something accepted in the White House that I worked in.” For his part, Shah concluded that the White House “could have done better” in handling the situation. But, while this may be the first acknowledgement of mishandling a situation, this is not the first time the vetting of a key Administration member has caused a headache for the White House. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, garnered scrutiny for failing to disclose foreign contacts on his form, a list of omissions that included former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition. Andy Puzder, who Trump had originally picked as his Secretary of Labor, [withdrew his nomination](http://time.com/4672325/andy-puzder-labor-withdraw-donald-trump/) after decades-old allegations of abuse from his ex-wife surfaced, although she later retracted them. And Trump’s former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was[ charged with domestic violence](http://motto.time.com/4467954/donald-trump-stephen-bannon-domestic-violence/) in 1996, although the case was ultimately dismissed. Shah declined to say how many other members of the Administration were operating with temporary security clearances. But Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as White House Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform in the Obama Administration and has been a frequent Trump critic, said these issues with vetting reflect the Trump Administration’s decisions to play by its own rulebook. “This White House and this Administration play fast and loose with the laws, rules and norms that have historically governed and been respected by previous White Houses of both parties,” Eisen told TIME. “The reason that somebody with these extraordinary allegations hanging over their head would be able to be in the position is the contempt that emanates for the normal rules, starting with the President.” ## Transcript [00:00] To summarize, the allegations against Rob Porter are [00:03] serious and deeply troubling, he did deny them. The [00:08] incidents took place long before he joined the White [00:10] House, therefore they were investigated as part of the [00:12] background check, as this process is meant for such [00:16] allegations. It was not completed, and Rob Porter has [00:20] since resigned. During his time at the White House, [00:24] Rob received no waivers, and no special treatment. [00:28] And this is the tried and true process, it was followed [00:30] meticulously. We hope this helps explain how seriously [00:34] this matters are taken, and how the process works to [00:38] investigate such allegations. With that I'll take your [00:41] questions. John. Can you tell us [ UNKNOWN ] when the [00:44] White House first became aware of these allegations? [00:47] Well, I know there's been some reports about the chief [00:50] of staff. He became fully aware about these allegations [00:54] yesterday. I'm not gonna get into the specifics [00:57] Regarding who may have known what pieces of [01:00] information because they were all part have an [01:02] ongoing background check investigation. You said fully [01:05] aware, was he partially aware? I think we all became [01:08] aware of the news reports that emerged on [01:11] Wednesday morning and some of the graphic images. [01:13] But did you know any of this Back in November. Yeah, [01:17] and I'm not gonna get into the specifics. Peter? Let me [01:19] ask you if I can, the statement change from John Kelly [01:21] yesterday morning to the statement yesterday evening. [01:23] He said, based on new allegations. But what changed [01:26] yesterday, absent a photograph, in terms of new [01:29] allegations. Well, I think what I just referenced, the [01:31] reports had additional allegations. They had more [01:35] information. So you're saying the initial reports where [01:38] two former wives accused him of violence, both [01:42] physical and verbal abuse, was not sufficient for him to [01:45] say that I think he's a man of honor? There were a [01:47] number of statements from the Press Secretary, from [01:51] the Chief of Staff, from others that reflected the Rob [01:53] Porter that we've come to know Working here for over [01:57] a year. And the chief of staff for the last six months. [02:02] The reports are troubling. I think the statement from [02:04] Wednesday night reflects the Rob Porter we had seen [02:07] in some of these news reports and some of these [02:09] credible allegations. To be clear, what was so shocking [02:12] that had changed? You said it was shocking, what was [02:14] he referring to? The full nature of the allegations, [02:16] particularly the images. Just answer one more thing. [02:18] You talked about the fact that, there weren't any [02:20] concerns, you said, that could compromise national [02:23] security or interfere with operations here at the White [02:25] House. But we're spoken to one of Porter's ex- wives [02:28] who told us that she warned the FBI that he could be [02:30] susceptible to blackmail because of the allegations [02:34] Against [ CROSSTALK ] Yeah, I'm not gonna get into the [02:36] specifics of the investigation itself, i think that's a [02:39] question for the FBI and others but this is not our [02:42] process, this is the process the US goverment uses [02:45] across agencies and it's existed over numerous [02:47] administrations. 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