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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Yasmina Dardari, yasmina@unbendablemedia.com, 407-922-8149

Domestic Abuse Survivors Demand WH Chief of Staff John Kelly's Resignation for 'Giving Cover' to Rob Porter

UltraViolet Urges Accountability for Hiring & Defending Porter Despite Knowing About Domestic Abuse Allegations.

WASHINGTON

More than 1,840 survivors of domestic and sexual abuse have signed onto a new letter organized by UltraViolet, a leading women's advocacy group demanding White House Chief of Staff John Kelly resign immediately over his actions to ignore and excuse White House aide Rob Porter's history of domestic violence. The letter comes after Porter resigned last week amid controversy following a Daily Mail piece with accusations from his first and second ex-wives that the Trump staffer physically abused them during their marriage.

UltraViolet's letter demands that Kelly step down for giving Porter a powerful senior role in the West Wing despite knowing about the domestic abuse allegations against him for months, and expresses outrage at Kelly's praise and defense of Porter after the story broke last week.

VIEW THE LETTER HERE: https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/johnkelly_survivorletter/

Nita Chaudhary, Co-Founder of UltraViolet, explains:

"John Kelly must go. Kelly should have never allowed someone with a record of domestic violence to serve in the White House in the first place. He has disqualified himself from serving the American people by protecting Rob Porter and exhibiting a shocking disregard for survivors and national security.

"The White House is a toxic boys' club filled with misogynists and abusers. Porter is just one in a string of Trump staffers to be accused of violence against women--a pattern of monstrous behavior that goes all the way to the top to the President himself. We believe women and we stand with Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby. Time is up for these dangerous men--beginning with Kelly."

Cynthia Davisson, a survivor of domestic abuse and a signer of the letter, added:

"There is no room for grey areas when it comes to domestic violence. By not condemning it, you condone it."

For more information, or for interview with an UltraViolet spokesperson or a domestic abuse survivor, please contact Yasmina Dardari at 407-922-8149 or by email at yasmina@unbendablemedia.com.

UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture.