THE DEEP STATE VS THE HE-MAN WOMAN-HATER'S CLUB:

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the bureau had completed a background report on then-staff secretary Rob Porter last July and closed out the case entirely last month. Wray's account is at odds with White House claims that the investigation required for Porter's security clearance was "ongoing" until he left his job last week, after his two ex-wives publicly alleged physical and emotional abuse. [...]

The Porter drama has become all-consuming, creating an atmosphere of chaos and infighting reminiscent of the "Game of Thrones" stage early in Trump's presidency -- and distracting from the administration's budget and infrastructure agenda.

Inside the West Wing, a growing number of aides blamed Trump's second White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, for the bungled handling of the allegations against Porter. Trump in recent days has begun musing about possible replacements, according to people with knowledge of the conversations. [...]

[K]elly does not enjoy the confidence of an increasing number of his subordinates, some of whom said they believe that the retired four-star Marine Corps general has misled them.

Kelly is "a big fat liar," said one White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid opinion. "To put it in terms the general would understand, his handling of the Porter scandal amounts to dereliction of duty."

This portrait of the West Wing in turmoil is based on interviews with more than a dozen top White House officials and outside advisers and confidants, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retribution. [...]

"Credibility is the coin of the realm for any White House chief of staff, and it's especially important in a White House where truth was the first casualty and credibility has been the second," said Chris Whipple, who wrote a book about chiefs of staff.

The internal animus is not limited to Kelly. White House counsel Donald McGahn and deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin are also facing scrutiny over how Porter managed to work at the White House -- and hold an interim security clearance -- for more than a year despite the allegations of abuse during his two marriages.

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