John Kelly (AP)

John Kelly has had a long, distinguished career.

A retired Marine general, he’s known for his courage, his decency and his dedication to service.

But that reputation is starting to come under stress now that he’s the Trump administration’s White House chief of staff, a position that requires him to defend a president who frequently picks fights and says things that are demonstrably not true.

Kelly is now being accused of mischaracterizing a 2015 speech by a congresswoman who criticized President Donald Trump this week. Here’s the latest:

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The Fake News is going crazy with wacky Congresswoman Wilson(D), who was SECRETLY on a very personal call, and gave a total lie on content! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2017

The White House chief of staff, who prefers to stay out of the spotlight, felt compelled to publicly rebuke Florida U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson on Thursday. The Democratic congresswoman had criticized Trump’s recent condolence call to the widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was killed during a mission in Niger early this month. Wilson, who overheard the call on speakerphone, reported that Trump said Johnson “knew what he signed up for … but when it happens it hurts anyway.”

“I think it’s so insensitive,” Wilson said of Trump’s comment. “It’s crazy. Why do you need to say that? You don’t say that to someone who lost family, the father, the breadwinner. You can say, ‘I’m so sorry for your loss. He’s a hero.’ ”

Trump lashed out at Wilson, denying he said Johnson “knew what he signed up for” and calling Wilson a liar. “Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action,” Trump tweeted. “Sad!”

Johnson's aunt, who also heard the exchange with Johnson's widow on speakerphone, backed up Wilson's version of events. "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Cowanda Jones-Johnson said.

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Wilson (AP)

Kelly, who reportedly listened in on the phone call on the president’s end, did not dispute that Trump said Johnson knew what he signed up for. Instead, he decried Wilson’s decision to publicly talk about a private phone call between a president and the widow of a slain soldier.

He also characterized Wilson as a typical grandstanding politician, using as an example a 2015 speech she gave at a ceremony to name a new regional FBI building in Florida after two FBI agents, Benjamin Grogan and Jerry Dove, who had been killed in the line of duty in 1986.

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Here’s how Kelly, who was in attendance at the 2015 FBI building dedication ceremony, remembered Wilson’s participation in the event:

"A congresswoman stood up," he told reporters on Thursday, "and in a long tradition of empty barrels making the most noise, stood up there in all of that and talked about how she was instrumental in getting the funding for that building, and how she took care of her constituents because she got the money, and she just called up President Obama, and on that phone call, he gave the money, the $20 million, to build the building, and she sat down."

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Sgt. Johnson's widow at her husband's casket. (AP)

Wilson’s response to Kelly’s attack: “He shouldn't be able to just say that, that is terrible. This has become totally personal.”

She denied that she took credit for securing funding for the building, pointing out that the project had been funded before she was even elected to Congress in 2010.

“I didn’t say that,” she said, referring to Kelly’s recollection about the event. “I have staff, people who write the speeches. You can’t say that.”

Wilson sponsored the bill that named the building after the two FBI agents, the Miami Herald reported.

Getting a federal building named after an individual or individuals usually is not easy. Said then-FBI Director James Comey at the time of the 2015 ceremony: “Rep. Wilson truly did the impossible, and we are eternally grateful.”

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whatever you think of how @RepWilson handled Trump call to widow, Kelly badly mischaracterized her 2015 FBI remarks https://t.co/dwz3xerqvM — John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) October 20, 2017

Florida's Sun-Sentinel newspaper has posted video of Wilson's speech at the 2015 ceremony, which proves that Kelly was wrong about her remarks that day.

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if kelly meant all the things he said yesterday about lost decency, he should restore some by apologizing to @RepWilson. Also... 1/2 https://t.co/9RRYF7JYjW — Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) October 20, 2017

Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics counsel for the Obama administration who's leading an emoluments case against President Trump, said on Twitter that Kelly was "not 'honest'" and should apologize to Wilson.

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2/2 Also, this video raises question whether Kelly's effort to defend Trump complied with 5 CFR 2635.101(b)(5) b/c not "honest" https://t.co/gjQC1aECUd — Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) October 20, 2017

The Trump administration’s response to the video proof of Wilson’s 2015 speech: “The White House stands by Gen. Kelly’s account of the event.”