Congress opens investigation into Rob Porter

WASHINGTON— The House Oversight Committee opened an investigation into Rob Porter’s tenure as White House staff secretary, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., announced on Wednesday. Gowdy, the committee chairman, told CNN the panel opened the inquiry into Porter’s employment at the White House Tuesday evening after seeing competing stories of his dismissal. “We are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don’t have,” Gowdy said. “I’m going to direct questions to the FBI that I expect them to answer.” Porter served as White House staff secretary until he resigned last week amid accusations he physically abused his two ex-wives. He worked closely with White House chief of staff John Kelly but never received a security clearance from the FBI. The White House said Porter’s clearance was still processing, but FBI Director Christopher Wray offered a different version of events to Congress on Tuesday, saying the FBI had already completed Porter’s background check and had briefed the White House multiple times about Porter’s clearance. Both of Porter’s ex-wives said they contacted law enforcement about his abuse, which would have surfaced during a background check. “How do you have any job if you have credible allegations of domestic abuse?” Gowdy asked. “Again, I am biased toward the victim.”