Rob Porter’s friend pressed ex-wife’s husband for silence

Colbie Holderness’s husband emailed the FBI in January 2017 after a close friend of her first husband, Rob Porter, came to him saying he was told that Colbie poisoned Porter’s ex-girlfriend at a bar, DailyMail.com has learned.

In a Facebook messenger exchange between Colbie Holderness, 37, and Porter’s ex-girlfriend, obtained by DailMail.com, the two women discuss meeting for a drink – but there is no accusations of alleged ‘poisoning’ – only the ex’s gratitude for Colbie support.

In Skiffington Holderness’ email to the FBI, also obtained by DailyMail.com, he expressed concerns that Porter’s friend, Bryan Cunningham, who was a mutual acquaintance, was ‘actively working to quell’ issues surrounding Porter’s background check for his White House security clearance.

Skiffington, 36,  also wrote that Cunningham told him it was best to ‘bury the past’ with regards Colbie’s marriage to Porter, now 40.

Porter and Colbie were married in 2003 and divorced in 2013. She was photographed with a black eye Porter allegedly gave her, and claims he choked, punched and verbally abused her

Porter left the White House last Wednesday after his two ex-wives came forward with allegations of physical and verbal abuse to DailyMail.com

Skiffington Holderness declined to comment when contacted today by DailyMail.com.

According to the email, Cunningham, a D.C. lobbyist, called Skiffington Holderness in late January, regarding a ‘time-sensitive’ issue. Cunningham told him that ‘Rob didn’t know’ he was reaching out to him or Porter’s ex-girlfriend regarding the FBI background check.

Cunningham began by asking Holderness if he knew Rob Porter’s ex-girlfriend. In the email, obtained by DailyMail.com, her name has been removed as she is an alleged victim of domestic violence and has requested anonymity.

In Skiffington Holderness’ email to the FBI, Skiffington Holderness expressed concerns that Porter’s friend, Bryan Cunningham (above), who was a mutual acquaintance, was ‘actively working to quell’ issues surrounding Porter’s background check for his White House security clearance

Holderness’ email states: ‘He began by asking me if I knew a XX XX. I said I knew of her. He then told me that while he barely knew her, she had called him the previous night claiming that my wife poisoned her at a bar. He said that he recommended that she call 911 because she was throwing up while on the phone. 

‘He then said that he didn’t think my wife would poison anyone but wanted to let me know that someone was going around town trying to “infect” others against Rob. 

‘He also asked whether Colbie reached out to XX, or whether XX approached Colbie. I said that my wife did not poison anyone, that they had gone out the night before, that my wife mentioned very stiff drinks, and that I didn’t know who reached out to whom and didn’t want to get involved in this matter.’

DailyMail.com has reached out to Bryan Cunningham for comment but have not received any.

DailyMail.com has also obtained a Facebook messenger exchange between Colbie Holderness and Porter’s ex-girlfriend, where they discuss meeting for a drink –but there is no mention of alleged ‘poisoning’.

From the messages, it appears that the ex-girlfriend, who is also a government employee, reached out to Holderness for support with her own domestic abuse allegations.

In the messages, the women arranged to meet for a drink in a D.C. bar. The following day, the ex-girlfriend messaged Holderness to apologize for leaving early because she felt ill.

She wrote: ‘I am so so sorry I had to run out like that and wasn’t feeling well! Please let me venmo or pay pal you for the drinks.’ 

Holderness’ email to the FBI also recounts that Cunningham told him it was ‘good’ that Colbie was initially considering not talking to the FBI about her marriage and that it was better to ‘bury the past and move on’

Porter and Colbie were married in 2003 (pictured) and divorced in 2013. Her new husband Skiffington Holderness sent an email to the FBI in January 2017, expressing concern that Porter’s friend Bryan Cunningham was trying to silence allegations of abuse

The email reads: ‘I told him that after he and I had spoken about Rob and the White House, that Colbie wanted to move past everything and her initial inclination was to not speak with the FBI. 

‘Bryan said that was good. He stated that she is not obligated to speak with the FBI. He mentioned that while Rob didn’t know about Bryan speaking with XX or me, it was best to “bury the past” and move on.’

‘Bryan then spoke of how the two of us are good friends and how women in this town are crazy. Before the call ended, I mentioned to him that from time to time people approach Colbie or me and ask questions about her previous marriage, having been told mistruths.  

‘I asked that since we have been put in the awkward position of talking about this matter, whether Bryan could ask Rob to be truthful when discussing his past marriage. Bryan said that Rob isn’t lying; that women around town lie because they are “crazy” and jealous. We have not spoken since.’

The email to the FBI ends: ‘I want to be sure that you were aware of these conversations because it seemed to me that Bryan, due to his close friendship with Rob, is aware of possible background issues and is actively working to quell them. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.’

Details of the email come as it emerged that Porter told the White House last week before his resignation that Colbie’s black eye, seen in photos released by DailyMail.com, was an ‘accident’.

Sources told ABC News this week that Porter said the couple had been arguing over a vase in their hotel room on a holiday in Italy in the early 2000s early on in their marriage when Holderness fell and got her black eye.

In on-the-record remarks to DailyMail.com, Colbie Holderness said that Porter punched her in the face on that occasion. She also detailed multiple other incidents of physical and verbal abuse over her five-year marriage.

She also said that she was interviewed by the FBI in January 2017 and had told agents about the alleged domestic abuse by Porter, including about him punching her and giving her a black eye. She also provided photos of her black eye to the FBI.

White House communications boss Hope Hicks has yet to comment on the allegations being made about Porter and the two appear to still be dating at this time. Hicks and Porter were photographed spending the night together in Washington two weeks ago

Addressing rumors the communications director Hope Hicks (pictured on Tuesday) was now dating Porter, Conway said she didn’t fear for her because she was ‘strong’

In the wake of her allegations, Colbie has hit out at the Trump administration over the way it has handled her allegations of domestic abuse.   

In a comment piece for The Washington Post, she expressed her dismay at Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for not saying whether or not the President believed her and Porter’s other ex-wife Jennie Willoughby, who also claims abuse at the hands of Porter. 

Colbie said she expected better from a woman, and had strong words for another woman – White House counsel Kellyanne Conway after the lawyer spoke on CNN.

Addressing rumors the communications director Hope Hicks was now dating Porter,  Conway said she didn’t fear for her because she was ‘strong’. 

But Colbie, who claims she was punched by her former husband during a violent relationship, was eager to point out this gave the impression she was weak.

‘Her statement implies that those who have been in abusive relationships are not strong. I beg to differ,’ she wrote.

‘Recognizing and surviving in an abusive relationship take strength. The abuse can be terrifying, life-threatening and almost constant.

‘For me, living in constant fear of Rob’s anger and being subjected to his degrading tirades for years chipped away at my independence and sense of self-worth.’

Porter has denied abusing his ex-wives, but Colbie’s column addressed the need for people like her to speak out about it and not stay silent on the issue.

Porter’s second ex-wife Jennifer Willoughby also claims the former White House aide abused her, once pulling her naked from the shower to yell at her. 

The couple married at Thanksgiving 2009 and he called her a ‘f**king b***h’ on their honeymoon at Myrtle Beach between Christmas and New Year, she says.   

His first wife Colbie Holderness claims Porter choked and punched her during their marriage 

Skiffington’s email to the FBI said: ‘Before the call ended, I mentioned to [Bryan Cunningham] that from time to time people approach Colbie or me and ask questions about her previous marriage, having been told mistruths’. Pictured: Porter and Colbie at their wedding in 2003

Porter’s second ex-wife Jennifer Willoughby (pictured) also claims Porter asked her to downplay the allegations of abuse she was making against him

The White House on Monday defended President Donald Trump’s failure to acknowledge publicly the women who’ve accused Porter of domestic violence.

With questions still swirling about who knew what and when, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders repeatedly told reporters that the ‘president and the entire administration take domestic violence very seriously and believe all allegations need to be investigated thoroughly.’  

‘Above all, the president supports victims of domestic violence and believes everyone should be treated fairly and with due process,’ she added. 

The statement came in response to repeated questions about why the president has not uttered similar words himself. 

In tweets and in public remarks, Trump has made no mention of the two ex-wives who accuse Porter of physical and emotional abuse, and he has made no attempts to personally reassure the public that he takes such charges seriously.

Porter has denied the allegations and blamed them on a smear campaign.

‘People’s lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation,’ Trump complained over the weekend on Twitter, asking: ‘Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?’ 

Trump also wished Porter well and said he hoped he’d have a successful career.

But Sanders said her statement had come directly from the president and argued there was no effective difference between the two.

‘It’s my job to speak on the behalf of the president. I spoke to him, and he relayed that message directly to me, and I’m relaying it directly to you,’ she said. She also defended his comments wishing Porter well, saying the ‘president of the United States hopes that all Americans can be successful in whatever they do.’

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Conway also defended the tweet, saying: ‘What the president is pointing out is that, all the while – and Sarah said this from the podium too, read a statement from Rob Porter – that he is denying these ‘vile allegations’, but that he doesn’t want to further engage in this orchestrated public smear campaign.’ 

Privately however President Trump is said to be furious with Porter, blaming him for creating a crisis for the administration. He is said to have told one confidant during a phone call that Porter was ‘bad garbage’, according to the New York Times.  

Porter, described as one of the most important players in Trump’s circle, resigned from his role as White House staff secretary last week following claims of domestic abuse

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified Tuesday in a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that the White House has had four separate notifications from the bureau about why Rob Porter couldn’t get a permanent security clearance

The circumstances surrounding Porter’s departure have also raised questions about the national security background checks White House officials must undergo.

As staff secretary, Porter handled the president’s paper flow, giving him access to highly sensitive information as well as the president himself. 

Yet he had only interim security clearance the entire time he worked in the building.

Sanders stressed that the background check process is handled by the FBI and other intelligence agencies, not the White House, and is the same process administrations have relied on for decades.

‘If changes are thought to be made, that would be made by the law enforcement and intel communities that run that process, not the White House. But that’s something that could be looked at, certainly, in light of this,’ she said.

She also accused reporters of being the ones who put classified information at risk. 

An FBI spokeswoman said the bureau neither grants nor denies clearances on behalf of government agencies, nor does it make recommendations. 

Once an investigation is complete, information is provided to the agency, which then decides whether to grant or deny clearance. 

The White House has stressed that Porter’s investigation was still underway, although on Tuesday morning, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in a Senate hearing that the White House got four separate notifications about Rob Porter. 

Responding to a question from Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Wray spelled out the process in which the bureau ‘briefed’ the White House while Porter was operating with a temporary clearance and had access to some of America’s most closely held secrets.

‘The FBI submitted a partial report on the investigation in question in March, and then a completed background investigation in late July,’ Wray said, adding that ‘soon thereafter we received requests for [a] followup inquiry, and we did the followup and provided that information in November.’

Wray added that the FBI ‘administratively closed the file in January,’ directly contradicting the White House’s account.

‘Then earlier this month we received some additional information and we passed that along as well,’ he said

He also declared that ‘in this particular instance the FBI followed established protocol.’