'These outrageous allegations are simply false. I took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described,' Porter said in a statement Wednesday. “I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign.” 
 
 On Wednesday night, Kelly issued a statement condemning Porter’s alleged abuses while still expressing support for his aide. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO 
 
 Colbie Holderness married Porter in June 2003 at New College Chapel in Oxford, England where Porter was attending as a Rhodes scholar 
 
 Holderness, 37, who is a senior analyst for the U.S. government, spoke on the record to DailyMail.com about her five-year marriage following the on-the-record allegations by Rob Porter's second wife, Jennifer Willoughby 
 
 Colbie tells DailyMail.com that while she and Porter were on a vacation in Florence, Italy, a couple of years after they married in the early 2000s, Porter punched her in the face 
 
 Porter, 40, has been described as one of the most important players in Trump's daily Oval Office orbit, and helped him write last week's State of the Union Address 
 
 Hope Hicks, 29, was seen leaving her D.C. apartment with White House Staff Secretary Porter 10 days ago 
 
 On Wednesday White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to comment on his security clearance, however, and dodged a question about why President Trump would accept his resignation even though the White House had emphasized the trust and faith the administration had in Porter. “Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him,” Kelly said in a statement Tuesday night. “He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.” 
 
 The White House also distributed a statement from Hatch defending Porter. And Porter's first ex-wife, Holderness, revealed to DailyMail.com that she was interviewed by the FBI – as was Willoughby – about their marriage after Porter was tapped for his current White House position as staff secretary. The two met for lunch in Arlington in March and shared their stories — months before they were contacted by reporters and shared those stories publicly this week. Last week, DailyMail.com revealed that Porter, who is Mormon, and White House Director of Communications Hope Hicks are dating, and were seen kissing in a cab on the way back to her apartment from a bar. “I care about him and want what’s best for him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean him keeping his job, because he needs to face these underlying issues.” 
 
 White House officials said early Wednesday that Porter could continue working for several weeks, but as the backlash grew Wednesday night, a senior White House official said he was expected to leave within 48 hours. There is no place for domestic violence in our society,” Kelly said. 'I stand by my previous comments of the Rob Porter that I have come to know since becoming Chief of Staff, and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation. I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.” 
 
 
 
 Jennifer Willoughby, ex-wife of Rob Porter, on Wednesday in Alexandria, Va. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post) 
 
 Porter’s second wife, Jennie Willoughby, received a temporary emergency protective order in ­Arlington in June 2010 after saying he refused to leave her residence, in violation of their separation agreement. “She also told me he was verbally abusive, and I witnessed some of that.” 
 
 Willoughby and Holderness said they talked to the FBI about Porter twice last year, once in late January and then again months later. But we were already over in England, everybody had flown over there and it was a very high-pressure situation for a 23-year-old and so I went through with it' 
 
 Says Colbie: 'We were arguing and he punched me in the face. Jennifer Willoughby, the second wife of President Trump's staff secretary Rob Porter, spoke on the record to DailyMail.com about her abusive marriage 
 
 The physical abuse escalated from there. While on a vacation in Florence, Italy, a couple of years after they married, Holderness said that Porter punched her in the face. Porter is one of the few senior White House staffers with past government experience, having served as chief of staff to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah). In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com on February 6, Hatch said that it was 'incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man. In January, he asked her again to take it down, she said, telling her that reporters were looking into his past. In every interaction I’ve had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful,” he said. My staff loved him and he was a trusted advisor.' I do not know the details of Rob's personal life. Domestic violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable. I am praying for Rob and those involved.” 
 
 Porter’s most recent ex-girlfriend, who also works in the administration, reached out to the White House last year to express her concerns about him after she discovered his relationship with Hicks, according to a senior administration official. Porter functioned as Chief of Staff John F. Kelly’s top enforcer in their shared mission to instill discipline and order in what had become an extraordinarily chaotic West Wing. In her office after she announced Porter's resignation, Sanders said that 'of course' the Trump White House condemned domestic violence of any kind. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that 'of course' the administration condemns domestic violence of all kinds, but wouldn't commit to whether she believes Porter or his two ex-wives Sanders wouldn't, however, say that the White House sided with Porter's ex-wives or believed their accounts of his behavior. In interviews with The Washington Post and other media outlets, Porter’s ex-wives described him as having a dark side and, at times, a violent streak that White House aides say they did not see. The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Post, concludes that “reasonable grounds exist to believe that [Porter] has committed family abuse and there is probable danger of a further such offense.” 
 
 [Read the emergency protective order against Rob Porter] 
 
 Kathryn Hughes, a 36-year-old public relations consultant who lives in Kamas, Utah, said that in 2012, Willoughby confided in her about another violent incident, in December 2010, in which Willoughby alleged that Porter grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her from the shower during a fight. I was let down by that.” 
 
 Willoughby said Porter angrily called her when she wrote a blog post about him in April — without naming him — and asked her to remove it, concerned about his image. He is charming and intelligent and fun and chivalrous and — in capital letters — angry and deeply flawed.” 
 
 Willoughby, a writer and former high school teacher, said she was unaware of the abuse alleged by Porter’s first wife while she was with him. The official, Rob Porter, served as the staff secretary, a title that belies the role’s importance in any White House — but especially in President Trump’s. “He has the ability to compartmentalize and maintain his integrity and professionalism at work. “In my experience, his anger and his lashing out is very much limited to intimate, personal romantic relationships,” Willoughby said. Hughes said that she and Willoughby met in 2010 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alexandria and that they struck up a close friendship. Porter’s ex-wives said they informed the FBI in January 2017 of their allegations against him while they were being interviewed by agents as part of Porter’s security clearance review. Though many of his colleagues have eclectic backgrounds, Porter boasts a classic pedigree as a Harvard University-educated Rhodes scholar whose father, Roger B. Porter, held senior positions in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush White Houses.
– Influential White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned Wednesday in the wake of reports he physically abused two ex-wives, reports that he maintains are "vile" and "simply false." The claims come via Colbie Holderness (who married Porter in 2003) and Jennifer Willoughby (who married him in 2009). The Washington Post reports White House staffers knew vaguely of the situation as of late 2017, but only heard the alleged details when contacted Tuesday by a reporter from the Daily Mail, which first reported the women's story. But Holderness and Willoughby say they did tell the FBI what happened in January 2017. "I thought by sharing my story with the FBI he wouldn’t be put in that post," Holderness says, explaining that she voiced concerns he could be blackmailed because of the number of people who knew about her situation.