Individuals with a history of beating up their romantic partners are not supposed to be allowed to obtain the top security clearance required for the job Porter was awarded. As White House staff secretary, Porter would go on to become one of the most quietly powerful men in President Donald Trump's administration, controlling the flow of information that landed on Trump's desk, according to media reports. Righthand man to Chief of Staff John Kelly, Rob Porter was thought of as above the fray of White House drama, a "master of discretion."

Doing that job without proper security clearances borders on impossible, said a former senior White House official who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about an internal matter, and Porter's temporary clearance should not have allowed him to view sensitive documents he would need to keep paper flowing. In at least one case, Porter requested documents but was refused, because he did not have clearance, according to the former White House official. The situation raises questions about whether the White House allowed Porter to handle highly classified information -- Porter's reported temporary clearance should not, for instance, have allowed him access to "top-secret" material.

At the time that Porter was denied the documents last summer, the source said, the reason for the lack of clearance -- the abuse allegations -- was known to White House officials.

Yet Porter remained in his position, operating on an interim clearance and accumulating more and more responsibilities even as high-level officials learned about his former partners' allegations of abuse.