From FBI Director Christopher Wray contradicting the White House’s purported timeline to a report that Chief of Staff John Kelly was going to promote him before the news broke, former staffer Rob Porter’s domestic abuse scandal seems to be getting worse. So much so that, according to House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-South Carolina), the congressional watchdog group is launching its own investigation into the matter. When CNN’s Alisyn Camerota asked the Republican representative whether or not his committee would be investigating Porter on Wednesday, he said plainly, “We did last night.”
When pressed further about the “official” nature of the investigation, Gowdy tried to downplay the committee’s involvement in the matter, but nonetheless confirmed his previous answer:
“We are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don’t have. You can call it official. You can call it unofficial. Those words don’t mean anything to me. What means something to me is I’m going to direct questions to the FBI that I expect them to answer.”
Noting that he was “troubled by almost every aspect” of Porter’s continued employment by the White House despite their apparently knowing about (and ignoring) the allegations by his two ex-wives, Gowdy concluded, “How do you have any job if you have credible allegations of domestic abuse? Again, I am biased toward the victim.” Along with Wray’s testimony on Tuesday, Gowdy’s comments Wednesday morning come as another blow to the White House’s narrative — especially since Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had previously arranged a secret meeting with select reporters and Porter so he could tell “his version of events.”
According to Politico, Porter was pressed by the reporters from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Axios to explain pictures of ex-wife Colbie Holderness’ black eye published by the Daily Mail. He claimed that while “on vacation in Venice, the two had quarreled over a Venetian glass vase” and Holderness “accidentally bruised her eye in the course of that altercation.” He also confirmed reports that he had called his second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, “a f***ing bitch.”
Check out Gowdy’s full interview with CNN below: