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Kellyanne Conway: Trump Wants ‘All Sides’ Considered in Abuse Allegations

But the White House adviser herself says she has “no reason not to believe” the women accusing Rob Porter of domestic violence.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Sunday appeared to break with President Trump on recent abuse allegations against a top presidential aide, even as she defended his response to the scandal. Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, Conway said she was “horrified” when former staff secretary Rob Porter was accused of domestic violence by two of his ex-wives on Tuesday. The allegations prompted Porter to step down a day later. Trump appeared to cast doubt on the accusations with a tweet on Saturday lamenting that people’s lives were “shattered” by a “mere allegation,” but Conway said she personally has “no reason not to believe” the women who came forward. Citing police reports and the women’s testimony to the FBI “under threat of perjury,” she said Porter “did the right thing by resigning.” In a separate interview on ABC’s This Week, Conway went on to defend the president’s reaction to the scandal, which has largely been to focus on the “very tough time” Porter is facing rather than to condemn domestic violence. “The president believes, as he said the other day, you have to consider all sides. He has said this in the past about incidents that relate to him as well,” Conway said.