McAuliffe: Trump Has More Sympathy for Abusers Than Victims — Should Be Hearings on Porter ‘Cover-up’

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) argued President Trump “has more sympathy for domestic abusers than the victims of domestic abuse” and called for Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify at Congressional hearings regarding the “cover-up” of the domestic abuse of former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter.

McAuliffe said, “This president has more sympathy for domestic abusers than the victims of domestic abuse. I mean, it’s just sad. It’s a continuing litany we’ve heard from this president. And this is a very serious issue.  This is taxpayer-funded money being used to cover up domestic abuse.”

He further called for open Congressional hearings where Kelly and McGahn testify, and “if they don’t, they should both resign. This is a cover-up.”

Later in the interview, anchor Jake Tapper asked McAuliffe how he would respond to those who would say he covered up for Bill Clinton. McAuliffe responded, “I clearly didn’t cover up. In fact, I wrote a book and came out and was very tough on President Clinton at the time. But what we’re dealing today is a situation where we have someone in the White House. It was federal dollars used to cover up a domestic abuse situation. And I think that is very serious for the United States government.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett