Turning A Blind Eye to a Black Eye

Donald Trumps firm hand claps with General Kelly

The correlation between the military mind set and what is happening in the White House is glaring. Donald Trump's White House Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, couldn't get a permanent security clearance for the man he brought on board to be Staff Secretary. Why? Because Rob Porter failed an FBI background check. Two of his ex-wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby were victim-survivors of Porter's abuse in their marriages. The General sent out a statement defending Porter's character saying :

 "Porter was “a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante, and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.” Kelly reportedly urged Porter to “stay and fight,” in spite of the incredibly serious accusations against him." - NY Times. February 8, 2018

It turns out that wasn't the case. Photo's emerged from Colbie Holderness who had a black eye that she received from Porter while on their Honeymoon, of all things, in Italy. The FBI now has copies of the photo's from Holderness, plus statements from the two abused ex-wives. And the General was forced to walk back his claims of Porter's sterling character after both Holderness and Willoughby spoke on record to The Daily Mail and other media sources.

In a memo to the staff on Thursday night, Mr. Kelly wrote, “While we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence very seriously. Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society.”- NY Times. February 8, 2018

Todd Shane Tomko, another abuser Kelly defended

Now what some of you may or may not know is that this same General John Kelly went to bat for Todd Shane Tomko. Tomko is a disgraced Marine Colonel who was found guilty of sexually harassing two female subordinates. Mr. Kelly praised the colonel as a “superb Marine officer.” That turned out to be a bad characterization of Kelly's. Tomko was so messed up, it was reported that he drove drunk to his own arraignment. General Kelly has a problem that has been in the Armed Forces for decades now. And that is to save the warrior at all cost. Screw the fact that he's being accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment or other punishable crimes. Save the accused, because he is worth it.

Even in the fact of the blacked eye photo's and the press pushing hard for transparency, Kelly only took a half-step back in the assessment of the situation with Porter. While admitting that domestic violence is a terrible thing, Kelly wouldn't give an inch on Porter's character. This was followed by Donald Trump's own remarks today, as he still believes Porter is innocent.

I don't want to drift too far afield of my main point, and that is in John Kelly's opinion, getting the job

Rob Porter. Domestic abuser who Trump believes is innocent

done always comes before anything else. He stood by Porter because Porter performed his duties well. This is much akin to the James Wilkerson case where his conviction was overturned by a 3-star General. It shows bias and blind loyalty from the brass. They treat victims/survivors as casualties in pursuit of what they see as the greater good.

In 2014 I wrote a story much like this one of a young woman who was a victim of domestic abuse. (I hope you check it out if you haven't already.) She tweeted me asking to help get her story out. And there it was; Bobbie Moulder had a black eye given to her by her Marine husband. She shared her story of a horrific marriage, and how the Military was just doing a dance with her case, and waiting for the clock to just run out on it while her now ex-husband had moved on with a promotion. These abusers continue to abuse partly because men like John Kelly and Donald Trump turn a blind eye to the reality that domestic violence, as well as sexual assault and other related crimes, are wrong. Rob Porter has been pried away from his job after a year. Since then, he has abused another woman who works for the federal government. She won't give her name (no doubt out of fear of losing her job) but she has sought out the advice of the 2 ex-wives.

 (R)Holderness, 37, (L) Willoughby

It's a damn shame that our own government which touts transparency and zero tolerance for this sort of behavior, doesn't have the confidence of women working for them. And Porter has moved on from dating this unknown person, to a relationship with Trump's own White House Communications Director, Hope Hicks. Now whether you like or dislike Miss Hicks, you can't help but wonder how long it could take before another page of domestic abuse will be added. Perhaps a page that might not have been necessary, if the General really believed his words:

“When I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country,” he said. “Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor. That’s obviously not the case anymore, as we see from recent cases.”- HuffPost October 9, 2017

Update:

By this weekend Donald Trump's reflection of how he views domestic violence was summed up in one of his tweets. He seems to put a lot of stock in the fact that people who work hard for him couldn't possibly be guilty, and of course after a matter of time should it really matter? His words come off as a dog whistle that accusers are just out to hurt these men. Apparently men free of scandal are hard to find to work for his administration.

The scene from Celebrity Big Brother with a vulnerable Omarosa Manigault who was brought into the inner circle by Trump and cast out by Kelly, says it all. (Whispering) "...It's not my circus, not my monkeys, I'd like to say not my problem but... it's bad." 

My thoughts:  The Evil you accept, is the evil you ignore.