Fox News host Jeanine Pirro told her viewers that if they were looking for someone to blame for the White House's disgraceful handling of the domestic abuse scandal involving former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, they should take a look at former President Barack Obama.
"Find another scapegoat," Pirro scolded in defense of White House chief of staff John Kelly, who knew about the allegations for months without doing anything. "You might want to look at the last president." Of course, that line of thinking is ridiculous, considering Porter never had anything to do with Obama, or his administration.
Pirro decided to paint an extravagant tale, in her version of the events, which was quite removed from reality. But her blistering rant requires some exhaustive mental gymnastics. "Have you been tricked into thinking someone was an upstanding person only to find out that the person inside was totally different?" Pirro asked.
She added, "It's nothing new, it happens to all of us, all the time."
She went on to lionize Kelly, who on Tuesday called Porter a "man of true integrity and honor" in prepared remarks to push back against the impending allegations first reported in the Daily Mail. That statement was also reportedly crafted, at least in part, by White House communications director Hope Hicks, who is dating Porter. Just a day later Kelly issued a new statement, in which he said he was "shocked" upon learning about the allegations.
The Fox News host also said Porter "turned out to be someone whose cover is different than the content of his character."
"For everyone looking for someone to blame, chill out. You want to blame someone? Blame the batterer," Pirro said, before later blaming Obama. "He doesn't walk around with a scarlet letter or a sign on his forehead that says 'I beat women.'"
She continued, "He is cunning, and clever — presenting himself as a charming individual whose a Rhodes scholar with a Harvard degree."
However, Porter didn't just turn out to be a person with a disturbing past. His past and inability to obtain a security clearance in a full year was known by the upper echelons of the White House, and they all proceeded forward with the cover-up charade they've become so accustomed to. Porter indeed held a position of prominence in the White House and was in control of sensitive information that landed on President Donald Trump's desk.
Porter has also been telling associates that Kelly encouraged him to "stay and fight" and has said he "never misrepresented anything" to Kelly, Axios reported.
"You want to stop a four-star general who is running the White House, who believes in chain of command, who makes a decision within forty minutes, because you hate President Trump? Find another scapegoat," Pirro closed. "You might want to look at the last president."
When Kelly first took over the White House at the end of last July, mainstream media outlets by and large painted Kelly as a man who would ease the chaos of the Trump administration, and restore order to the White House. At this point, that seems to be eons ago.
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