Second White House staffer resigns over domestic abuse allegations

The White House was rattled by a second resignation by a staffer because of domestic abuse allegations after White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned from similar claims by his two ex-wives.

What are the accusations?

White House speechwriter David Sorensen resigned Friday after allegations surfaced from his ex-wife, Jessica Corbett.

Corbett told the Washington Post that over their two and a half year marriage that Sorensen "ran a car over her foot, put out a cigarette on her hand, threw her into a wall and grasped her menacingly by her hair while they were alone on their boat in remote waters off Maine’s coast, an incident she said left her fearing for her life."

Sorensen denies but resigns

Sorensen resigned despite denying the claims from his ex-wife, explaining that he “didn’t want the White House to have to deal with this distraction.”

He added that he had “never committed violence of any kind against any woman in my entire life.”

“In fact, I was the victim of repeated physical violence during our marriage, not her,” he claimed, saying that he was considering legal action against her for defamation of character.

Crisis at the White House

The second resignation over domestic abuse allegations only worsens the climate at the White House, where various reports say the president has lost some trust in his aides over the Porter matter.

Critics in the media are assailing White House chief of staff John Kelly for not doing something about Rob Porter earlier, despite knowing about some of the allegations.

Here's the CNN report on this story:

David Sorensen, a member of the Trump administration's speechwriting team, has resigned after being accused of domestic abuse, a White House official says https://t.co/asZJCN1vbs pic.twitter.com/YX57yhd7j0

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 10, 2018