consistent with the function of the office when we were there in the obama administration. so they wouldn t get the finished background investigation from the fbi and then sit on it for months and months and conduct their own investigation, you re saying? you know, look, it s conceivable that there s additional paperwork that needs to be done. but what s important to understand is that rob porter wasn t just the typical white house staffer. he was one of no more than 25 assistants to the president. he was the gatekeeper of all paperwork that went to the president. so whatever they got from the fbi should have been moved along very, very quickly. and let s be clear. this is not an issue that needed much analysis. you know, there were abuse allegations against him from two ex-wives. i m frankly not sure what additional analysis would have needed to be done in this case. sarah sanders also said they, quote, had not finished their process. if this office is mainly sending information
that s right. but what the chief staff john kelly is telling people and we re told this through this member of congress who s talked to him directly is that he did immediately take action. he says he confronted rob porter, told him had he to resign, and then he told president trump of the decision. and so that s why we ve seen him saying that he aktd withcted wi minutes. we re also told when the chief of staff learned of the fact that rob was perhaps wanting to stay, he settled the matter right away. the general said he needed to leave the white house immediately, no further questions or debate. and alex, last thing, the quote from that member of congress, to your question about president trump, the member of congress said president trump didn t know this until the news broke and he shouldn t have been expected to know. president s don t get involved in background checks. okay. mike allen, it s always good to have with you these developing stories.
case by case basis. and in this case you realize that rob porter did the right thing by resigning. when i saw the tweet, i noticed rob porter wasn t mention pd i wondered if the president was talking about steve wynn who has been accused and essentially condemned without any due process. but what you saw from the president is a certain sadness that somebody he liked let him down. does the president believe rob porter is still innocent? i think he s shaped by a lot of false accusations against him in the past. but in talk to the president i think he s sad about what happened with rob, i think he s disturbed by it and he s i have disappointed in it and he believes that the resignation was appropriate. covering the latest headlines, kelly o donnell, kimberly atkins, and usa today paul singer. we re going to get to all of them. first to kelly at the white house. what more you can tell us about this? reporter: good morning or good aday, alex. there has been an effort coming togethe
something we haven t seen before and i m looking forward to it as are my colleagues. let s just remind someone, a republican outgoing senator and nonetheless a member of the president s own party and as kimberly was saying, it is not just him. graham as well echoed that saying the white house dme s depends on who you get. is the president, is the white house, charlie, a reliable partner in this? no. and that s the heart of everything happening over the next week or so. kimberly s analysis was exactly right. look. i think you will have something quite interesting in the senate. free form full debate. i do think there s a coalition of the decent across the party lines to come up with a piece of legislation that will get somewhere between 60 and 70 votes. but the gang of eight had 68 and died in the house of representatives and that s the big question.
the president s tweet yesterday was more generic. he never said the me too movement or rob porter s name. i think the tweet could be applied to a bunch of different people. i noticed rob porter wasn t mentioned. i wondered if the president was talking about his friend steve wynn who was accused and ba basically condemned without due process. thii think he is saddened wi what happened with rob. what does the president s reaction say about how he views women and what impact could that have on him politically? , what are we leaing about the time line of key fires inside the white house and allegations regarding rob porter? and third, what could all of this mean for the future of chief of staff john kelly s career in the trump white house? i m joins by chief washington reporter for boston harold.