«Breaking News» Trump changes tack and now commends Rob Porter and Gary Cohn for their rebuttals to Woodward

President Donald Trump has publicly praised his former aides Rob Porter and Gary Cohn for denying the accounts in Bob Woodward's new book, 'Fear', after sources revealed that he had bashed Porter in private.

'I really appreciate their statement. Their statement was excellent. And they both said that beautiful, which shows that the book is just a piece of fiction,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

Former chief economic advisor Cohn said in a statement to several news outlets on Tuesday that Woodward's book 'does not accurately portray my experience at the White House.' 

Porter, who was ousted as White House Secretary in February, issued a statement saying of the book: 'I am struck by the selective and often misleading portrait it paints of the president and his administration.' 

Trump was speaking at a press briefing about Hurricane Florence on Tuesday when a reporter asked about Porter and Cohn's denials, which the president praised

Porter (right), who was ousted as White House Secretary in February, called Woodward's book 'selective and often misleading'. Privately, Trump believes he is a primary source 

Cohn also called the book inaccurate. Woodward claimed in the book that Cohn stole a memo off of the Resolute Desk to prevent Trump from signing it

Earlier on Tuesday, it emerged that the president is convinced his Porter was 'a major source' of information in Bob Woodward's new book, 'Fear,' according to two West Wing sources and a longtime Trump friend who has his ear on a regular basis. 

'He thinks Rob trash-talked him after he was forced out,' one senior White House official told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.

The other official said the president 'is always wondering which of his people aren't really his people, and now he's pretty sure which camp [Porter] is in.'

Asked about Trump's sense of disappointment in Porter, who once organized most of his daily life in office, the president's longtime friend said he now seems more likely to believe the spousal abuse allegations that torpedoed the former aide's West Wing career.

Porter was revealed by DailyMail.com to have been accused by both his ex-wives of physically abusing them, and to have cheated on his girlfriend with Hope Hicks, Trump's then director of communications. 

'You know how he is with loyalty,' the friend added, referring to the premium Trump has long placed on fealty and devotion among his most trusted employees. 'It's not like this is as bad as Michael [Cohen], but now he thinks he never really knew the guy. I mean, really. He was a major source for the book.'

'The president used to wonder if Rob was really that guy, a guy who was violent with his wives. Not now,' the source added. 

Woodward, a famed Watergate-era journalistic sleuth, published a blistering book on Tuesday that the president thinks was the result of backstabbing from Porter

Porter, pictured at center on Trump's first day in office, was responsible for the flow of paper in and out of hte Oval Office until accusations of spousal abuse drove him out of the White House

Tump is seen with Hope Hicks in March.  Porter was dating Hicks at the time of his ouster

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.  

Woodward writes that at one point Trump wanted to elevate Porter, a Harvard-educated lawyer, to the high-profile and high-stakes role of White House counsel. 

Instead, Porter was shown the door in February following accusations that he was physically abusive to both of his ex-wives. 

'Fear' largely soft-pedals that scandal, which emerged from DailyMail.com's reporting.

Woodward also writes that Porter 'quickly concluded' he shouild resign when the first domestic violence allegation rocked Washington. In reality, the White House circled its wagons around him at first in an effort to ride out the storm.

That effort ended abruptly when his other former spouse released photos showing her with a black eye she said Porter inflicted on her. 

President Trump thanked Porter and Gary Cohn for their statements on Tuesday during a press availability about hurricane preparendess, but private he's fuming that they both sold him out

The book's publisher has reportedly printed 1 million copies, anticipating a massive run on hardcover copies

Despite an avalanche of negative publicity that forced the White House to revamp the way it awarded security clearances – Porter had high-level access to government secrets on an 'interim' basis, Trump continued to talk with the former aide after his departure.

As the scandal reached its peak, Trump publicly defended him, telling reporters that he 'says he's innocent and I think you have to remember that. ... We absolutely wish him well.'

He later mused about bringing Porter back to the White House, The New York Times reported about seven weeks after his ouster.

Porter issued a lengthy statement Tuesday, hours after Woodward's book went on sale, defending his role as Trump's clerical chieftain and taking issue with descriptions of him as a behind-the-scenes conspirator determined to intercept Trump's unforced errors in mid-flight.

Like a good soldier, Porter said Woodward had rendered a 'selective and often misleading portrait' of Trump and his administration.

But the bulk of Porter's statement concerned his own role in keeping Trump's Oval Office running with some semblance of smoothness.

He pointedly disputed an embarrassing anecdote that Woodward explores in exacting detail, about Cohn swiping a draft letter to South Korea from Trump's desk as a way of stopping the president from ending of a 2102 trade agrement.

Porter's first wife, Colbie Holderness, released photos in February of her with a black eye – an injury that she said Porter caused during their marriage

'I stole it off his desk,' Cohn later boasts to an associate in Woodward's telling of the story. 'I wouldn't let him see it. He's never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.'

The disappearance of paperwork from the Resolute Desk, no matter the culprit, would have represented a significant lapse on Porter's part.

He pushed back Tuesday, insisting the tale was just that. 

'The suggestion that materials were 'stolen' from the President's desk to prevent his signature misunderstands how the White House document review process works,' he said, 'and has worked for at least the last eight administrations.' 

ROB PORTER'S 'FEAR' STATEMENT

Former staff secretary to the president Rob Porter issued this statement to reporters on Tuesday after Bob Woodward's book 'Fear' hit store shelves: 

'Having now read Bob Woodward's Fear, I am struck by the selective and often misleading portrait it paints of the President and his administration.

'As Staff Secretary, I was responsible for managing the flow of documents to and from the Oval Office and ensuring that anything the President was asked to sign had been properly vetted. The suggestion that materials were 'stolen' from the President's desk to prevent his signature misunderstands how the White House document review process works — and has worked for at least the last eight administrations.

'It was also my responsibility to help ensure that relevant viewpoints were considered, that pros and cons were evaluated, that policy proposals were thoroughly vetted, and that the President could make decisions based on full information. Fulfilling this responsibility does not make someone part of a 'resistance' or mean they are seeking to 'thwart' the President's agenda. Quite the opposite.

'President Trump invites robust discussion and asks probing questions. He has the confidence to allow advisors to disagree with a proposed course of action and advocate for an alternative outcome—and I sometimes did just that. But in the end, President Trump is the one who decides, and he has shown himself more than capable of doing so. During my time in the White House, I sought to serve the President's best interests and to help enable his many successes—successes that Mr. Woodward's book ignores.

'President Trump's accomplishments are undeniable: significant tax relief to spur economic growth, rolling back burdensome regulations to unleash job creators, remaking the federal judiciary to uphold the Constitution, and much more.'

One of the only figures who appears more often than Porter in Woodward's book is former chief economic adviser Gary Cohn (right), who hasn't denied an account in 'Fear' of him stealing a document from the Resolut Desk so Trump couodn't sign it

'I am proud of my service in the Trump Administration,' Cohn said, 'and I continue to support the President and his economic agenda.'

'President Trump's accomplishments are undeniable: significant tax relief to spur economic growth, rolling back burdensome regulations to unleash job creators, remaking the federal judiciary to uphold the Constitution, and much more,' Porter gushed.

Trump, meanwhile, has blasted Woodward as a 'fiction' writer who used 'made up quotes' in his 'scam' book.

Porter's name appears in Woodward's book more than 240 times, figuring more prominently than Jared Kushner, Kellyanne Conway, Ivanka Trump, Reince Priebus or Melania Trump. 

Among the few people Woodward name-checked more often than Porter are former chief strategist Steve Bannon and former economic czar Gary Cohn.

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/12/trump-changes-tack-and-now-commends-rob-porter-and-gary-cohn-for-their-rebuttals-to-woodward/
Main photo article President Donald Trump has publicly praised his former aides Rob Porter and Gary Cohn for denying the accounts in Bob Woodward’s new book, ‘Fear’, after sources revealed that he had bashed Porter in private.
‘I really appreciate their statement. Their statement was...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca





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