A White House staffer who resigned on Friday over allegations he abused his ex-wife has vehemently denied them and claimed that he was beaten by her during their tumultuous two-and-a-half year marriage.
David Sorensen, 32, resigned on Friday after his ex-wife Jessica Corbett, also 32, told The Washington Post that he ran her over with a car, put a cigarette out on her hand and threw her into a wall, claims he denies.
In a statement which came after his departure, he said her accusations were ‘baseless’ and that he was the real victim.
‘I 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.’
Sorensen said he only resigned to spare the White House the ‘distraction’ of having to grapple with her claims.
‘It should be able to focus on continuing President Trump’s historic accomplishments for the American People,’ he told The Washington Post on Friday night.
Sorensen had worked as a speechwriter under senior policy adviser Stephen Miller.
He continues to live in Maine, where he the alleged abuse of Corbett occurred.
David Sorensen and Jessica Corbett at the Blaine House, the Maine governor’s residence, on Thanksgiving Day in 2015. He denied her claims that he domestically abused her, stating instead that it was her who attacked him physically during their tumultuous marriage
His departure comes days after former White House staff secretary Rob Porter handed in his resignation.
He has been accused of abusing both of his ex-wives.
Like Sorensen, he denies the allegations.
Corbett, who also worked for the Republican party, told the Post that Sorensen emotionally abused her in addition to allegedly beating her.
She said he once grasped her by her hair while they were alone on a boat off the coast of Maine and held her over the ledge, a moment she said she feared for her life.
Sorensen, 32, worked as a speechwriter under senior policy adviser Stephen Miller
She said she informed the FBI about the abuse claims last fall as the agency was conducting a background check of Sorensen.
It comes after staff secretary Rob Porter, one of the president’s closest aides, resigned Wednesday following the publication of allegations that he’d abused his two ex-wives. A former girlfriend of Porter has also stepped forward with claiming abuse. He, too, denies the allegations.
The White House said it learned of the allegations against Sorenson Thursday night, a day before the Post contacted administration officials for comment.
‘We immediately confronted the staffer, he denied the allegations and he resigned today,’ Shah said in a statement Friday evening.
The Post reported that Corbett approached the publication a week before the Porter accusations were published by DailyMail.com.
She says that during their short-lived marriage, Sorenson was repeatedly abusive both physically and emotionally.
During the time of the alleged incidents, Sorenson was a top policy adviser to Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage.
Corbett admits that several of the incidents involved alcohol and she had once struck Sorenson after he called a vulgar name.
The speechwriter said that its regretful that details of his tumultuous marriage have become public, but hopes ‘this incident is an opportunity to highlight the grossly underreported and unacknowledged issue of female-on-male domestic violence.’
In response to Sorensen’s allegations Friday evening, Corbett maintained that her violence never escalated beyond slapping him.
In a blog post on Medium, she said that while she ‘was not perfect’, she stood by what she had said.
This latest resignation comes as the White House still tries to quieten the scandal surrounding Porter’s exit.
The sudden departure of the speechwriter comes just two days after Staff secretary Rob Porter (Pictured), one of the president’s closest aides, resigned over abuse allegations
Two of Porter’s ex-wives, Colbie Holderness (left) and Jennifer Willoughby (right), claim the he physically abused them
White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, right, stands during a meeting in the Oval Office on Friday
President Donald Trump defended Porter when he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday
Porter stepped down from his job following on-the-record claims to DailyMail.com from his ex-wives Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby about the abuse they say they suffered during their marriages to the former Trump aide.
Holderness claims Porter choked and punched her during their marriage, while Willoughby says he dragged her wet and naked out of the shower and was verbally abusive.
On Friday, DailyMail.com also reported that White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly was told by Porter’s then-girlfriend in October 2017 that Porter’s ex-wives were prepared to level devastating accusations of spousal abuse against him.
White House counsel Don McGahn had also known since early 2017 that Porter was at risk of being accused of being violent with the women.
Porter’s ex-girlfriend denies ever speaking to Kelly, but the official in his chain of command confirmed on Friday morning that the conversation took place.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly walks with White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter on November 29, 2017
A White House official told DailyMail.com hours after being asked for comment, and after this story was first published, that ‘Chief Kelly denies ever speaking about this matter with Mr. Porter’s ex-girlfriend.’
Kelly has been in damage-control mode since DailyMail.com first broke the Porter story on Tuesday. The Washington Post reported Friday morning that he has been instructing White House staffers to publicly describe his reaction and involvement in a way that contradicts the established timeline of events.
President Donald Trump was not informed about Porter’s alleged history of abuse until Tuesday night when DailyMail.com first reported the ex-wives’ claims.
Kelly also learned from federal law enforcement in November, weeks after Porter’s live-in girlfriend spoke with him, that accusations against Porter were keeping him from receiving a permanent security clearance.
But he continued to give Porter more and more responsibilities to control the flow of information to the president.
White House staff Hope Hicks and Rob Porter are photographed spending the night together in Washington D.C on January 27, 2018
DailyMail.com is not identifying the girlfriend because she is a victim of domestic abuse accusations.
Porter has denied the ‘vile’ accusations, but was unceremoniously bounced from his White House job this week.
Complicating matters, White House Communications Director Hope Hicks is reportedly involved in a romantic relationship with Porter and allegedly helped craft his denial after the abuse allegations came to light.
Meanwhile, President Trump defended Porter when he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
He said of the allegations: ‘I found out about it recently and I was surprised by it. But we certainly wish him well. It’s obviously a tough time for him.’
‘He did a very good job when he was in the White House and we hope he has a wonderful career, and hopefully he will have a great career ahead of him.’
Former deputy staff secretary Derek Lyons has been promoted to acting staff secretary. The Harvard Law School grad previously worked as a senior adviser to Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign and Sen. Rob Portman, according to his Linkedin profile.