Various outlets have reported that Kelly and other staffers were aware of at least some of the allegations against Porter. Both ex-wives have said they told the FBI about them as part of his security-clearance process (Porter was working on an interim clearance), and Kelly is said to have known about a 2010 protective order against Porter. Shah wouldn’t say what Kelly knew when. When asked what had changed between Tuesday and Wednesday, Shah said, “The reports had additional allegations, they had more information.” Later in the briefing, pressed on what changed for Kelly, Shah seemed to suggest the photos made the difference. “I know he hadn't seen images prior to his statement, the statement on Tuesday night,” Shah said.

But that explanation creates its own problems. Does that mean the White House only believes allegations from women who can present photos to substantiate them? After all, both women had told the FBI about the abuse. This is dangerous territory for the White House, which has flatly stated that multiple reports of sexual assault against the president are untrue, as are the president’s own boasts about it in a video.

Shah insisted the photos were not the only factor. “We do take allegations of misconduct, of domestic violence, other issues like that very seriously,” Shah said. “In this instance, in the case of Rob Porter, we relied on the background check investigative process. That process hadn't been completed. We're relying on the information that we had.” At another moment in the briefing, he said, “You’ve got to take allegations seriously, you’ve got to take denials seriously.”

This is the legal standard for a background check. But there’s no reason the White House has to adhere to the same standard that any allegation must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, or that any denial bears the same weight as the allegation, in making decisions about the employment of its staff. The question is what caliber of person should be working at the highest reaches of government. (There’s also a cognitive dissonance between the White House saying the FBI must be allowed to complete the process at the same time that the president attacks the FBI, having fired its director over another investigation.)

My colleague David Frum notes that Trump has shown no hesitations about hiring accused domestic abusers in the past, to say nothing of an allegation against him. Shah also insisted that Porter had resigned, and not been pressured to leave. He wouldn’t answer on what might have happened had Porter not resigned.

Reporters were also curious whether personal relationships clouded the White House’s judgment—including a reported romantic relationship between Porter and Communications Director Hope Hicks. Shah said that staffers were surprised about the difference between the allegations against Porter and the man they knew, and said Hicks had recused herself from some matters.