Rob Porter, and Mormonism's #MeToo Moment

[DonViejo]

By Daniel Burke and MJ Lee, CNN

Updated 5:23 PM ET, Fri February 9, 2018

(CNN)Colbie Holderness says she met Rob Porter at a Mormon student congregation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lifelong Mormons, they married in the church in 2003. When Porter turned abusive and their marriage went bad, Holderness said, they turned to the church for guidance.

Porter, who had been a rising star in President Donald Trump's White House before abruptly resigning on Wednesday, has forcefully denied the abuse accusations from two ex-wives, calling them part of a "smear campaign." He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Both of the women Porter has been married to -- Holderness and Jennie Willoughby -- shared with CNN this week the unique role the Mormon church played in their troubled relationships.

For many Mormons, the first line of help outside the family is often the local bishop, a role somewhat akin to a pastor or a rabbi. But, unlike those clergy, the Mormon priesthood is occupied by part-time lay people with little formal training in pastoral work or counseling. And they are all men.

more
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/politics/rob-porter-mormonism-metoo/index.html

[Cha]

1. If it's "a smear campaign" as Porter

contends.. why did he resign?

He's also a liar which made him perfect for the trump wh.

" One of the bishops worked with Porter and warned her that filing a protective order could harm her husband's career."

And, here we are.

[sheshe2]

3. Boom!

That quote nails it.

He is as guilty as hell.

[Cha]

4. Yes he is, she..

And, he has trump and Gen Kelly defending him.

What a vipers' nest.. Thank Goodness for the tabloid, The Daily Mail, in England!

US tabloid endorsed the Russian mole

[sheshe2]

5. Robbie is awesome.

It wasn't me it was the vase!!!! Yay yay yay and she must have walked into a door as well. Hey robbie, are you left handed....sure looks like it.

[Cha]

6. I know.. what a weasel!

Busted.. and for such a "good at what he does" kinda guy... he sure is lame when he's trying to weasel out of responsibility for punching his former wives and his ex-girlfriend.

Rob Porter’s History of Domestic Abuse Wasn’t a Secret. It’s Just That No One Cared.

snip//

Don McGahn, the White House counsel, also knew, according to Politico, because in recent weeks a third woman, an ex-girlfriend of Porter’s who also works in the Trump administration, told him that Porter had abused her and his two ex-wives.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/rob-porters-history-of-domestic-abuse-wasnt-a-secret.html

I just found this article.. googling for "ex-girlfriend".. that I thought I had read about but wasn't sure.. It has quite interesting background details and a timeline that I hadn't read before.

[sheshe2]

7. I need to puke.

Until Wednesday, Rob Porter was the White House staff secretary. Long before Wednesday, many of the people to whom he reported knew he had physically abused and assaulted both of his wives. Colbie Holderness, Porter’s first wife, and Jennifer Willoughby, Porter’s second wife, both told the FBI their marriages had ended because of a pattern of physical and emotional abuse. According to their accounts, supported by photos, contemporaneous reporting to others, and a blog post written by Willoughby last April, Porter kicked these women, he punched and choked one of these women, he blackened one of these women’s eyes. He berated and insulted these women. Police were called. But Rob Porter is also white, and the son of a prominent academic and thinker. He went to Hahttps://www.democraticunderground.com/100210210679#toprvard and Oxford, and he had a high-ranking job in the Oval Office, and was reportedly pressing for a higher one. He was dating Hope Hicks, one of the president’s closest confidantes. So nobody did a thing about the allegations. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/rob-porters-history-of-domestic-abuse-wasnt-a-secret.html

I feel ill.

[Cha]

8. Thank you so much for posting that

part here, she!

It is so sickening and jarring.. where in the hell did rob porter go wrong.. he had it all, seemingly.. but respect for women and his ability to not beat up on them. He reached the highest levels in the WH with his history and no one in the trump regime cared.. not even Hope Hicks, apparently

Wonder if he's still going to be "dating Hope Hicks"?

ETA.. I forgot to add the title in previous thread..

Rob Porter’s History of Domestic Abuse Wasn’t a Secret. It’s Just That No One Cared.

[sheshe2]

9. Sadly the trump regime applauds him.

The birds of a feather flock together. They are all mentally ill and have no place in our government. That includes the dumpster himself. Perverts, every last one of them.

[Me.]

11. And The Speechwriter Who Also Resigned

said he was the victim

[Cha]

12. Oh really? I haven't

even had time to catch up to the latest abuser in the trump regime.

I went looking..

The abrupt departure of speechwriter David Sorensen comes after his former wife claimed that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their turbulent two-and-a-half-year marriage — allegations that he vehemently denied. Rather, Sorensen said he was the victim of domestic violence in their marriage.

Sorensen’s resignation comes two days after another administration official, staff secretary Rob Porter, departed after two ex-wives said that he physically abused them.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/02/09/a-second-white-house-aide-has-resigned-amid-past-domestic-abuse-allegations-which-he-denies/?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar&utm_term=.99fc36a469a7

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210210653

And, yet as you said.. Sorensen is the one who is resigning.

Mahalo, Me

[Me.]

13. They Have No DEfense

I wonder if he lied to the FBI too...

Cha

[Cha]

14. Betcha

Me

[Me.]

10. He Better Hope The Fbi Doesn't Come After Him

For lying

[Cha]

17. I hope they do.. they would go after anyone

else for Lying to the FBI, wouldn't they?

[herding cats]

15. Cha, their system is designed to defend the abuser and marginalize the victims.

It angers me to no end how patriarchal Mormonism is, as are most religions.

I read an article in a Salt Lake city paper yesterday trying to excuse their failings to these victims and almost blew a gasket.

[Cha]

16. Wow.. they have a lot to answer

for, herding!

Rob Porter got Fired from an abuser regime.. that's how bad it was.. and the Mormon church was covering for him.

[herding cats]

18. Porter only got fired because there were pictures of his abuse and that was bad PR for the WH.

If not for those they'd have still played the denial game at the expense of his victims. They knew for a year and kept ignoring what he'd done, then Trump comes out today and plays Porter up as a victim with no mention of the women he abused. That shows which way the wind is blowing in the current administration. They don't just disrespect women, they hate modern women. I honestly believe that they despise modern women for not knowing our "proper place" as they see it in society.

[brer cat]

20. Exactly, herding cats!

Those who deny and enable the abuser are as guilty as the abuser. They would love to take us back to a time when women had to take whatever their male, either father or husband, dished out.

[StevieM]

26. Could you provide a link to the article you read? I would be interested in what was said. (eom)

[still_one]

19. well said Cha!!! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Cha]

24. Mahalo, still_one!

[SunSeeker]

22. Glad she didn't listen to that fucked up bishop.

[Cha]

30. Yeah! Also.. I read Rob Porter

had asked his wife to take down here blog because people would know who it was and it would hurt his career.'

He wasn't denying it.

[HeiressofBickworth]

29. Hardly objective advice

Since the Mormons tithe on a percentage of their income, a bishop has a vested interest in telling a woman not to harm her husband's career. It's all about the money.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. I hope everyone here reads this story.

For someone who has seen this Movie,do not blow it off. The Stories are real and we had two neighbors blow their brains out because of failed so called Counseling by their so called Bishop's.

[ehrnst]

21. Kick and Reced!

[SunSeeker]

23. K & R for exposure.

[OnDoutside]

25. Massachusetts Mormon Bishop...does Mitt still live in Massachusetts ?

[gibraltar72]

27. In the deep dark recesses of what I call my memory

I think there was a story about Romney acting as Bishop. And the callous way he treated a young mother. Maybe someone can remember the facts better than I. Until someone proves otherwise I'll say the only concern for women shown by that cult is can she have babies. I have proof of that in my son in laws family.

[Hortensis]

31. Mormon parents are not taught to regard their children

as their own, but rather GOD's children who are entrusted to them to raise for god, in Mormon communities, according to god's instruction. A little basic eye-opener that can help people understand how difficult it can be for Mormon wives and mothers to divorce, and why the Romneys are felt qualified to instruct them--on god's law.

It's not a family story, but this reminds me of a marriage that broke up in half a year. Because my husband was a coworker of the groom, we attended the wedding where, as we watched bemused, the young bride, a brand-new Mormon for the occasion, promised to be guided by her husband in all things, etc., etc., etc., yadayada. Uhuh.

Within months her husband was screwing around on her, and she learned that he and her church expected her to actually take those vows seriously. So that was how it happened that one day the groom showed up at our house without so much as a change of socks. Instead of setting herself to lengthy counseling with him so they could both serve god properly, her father and 5 brothers came and got her and cleaned out every single item in their newly purchased house. They then eventually cleaned him out the rest of the way also because she was pregnant. One of the memorable weddings we've attended but only for its prompt, unsurprising and appropriate end.

[Wounded Bear]

28. Most of our major religions have yet to recover from their paternalistic roots...

If one must go to church, I'd suggest a smaller church, non-aligned with some international organization.

The bigger ones tend to be authoritarian, male-dominated, international corporations who would rather ya'll just stay in your place and accept the 'punishments' God has determined is right for you.