'Bunk': John Kelly finally issues timeline of Rob Porter firing -- and reporters instantly tear it to shreds

After weeks of conflicting stories, White House chief of staff John Kelly on Friday finally issued a timeline that purports to detail the Trump administration's handling of the Rob Porter firing.

However, reporters who have spent a great deal of time covering the Porter scandal were quick to tear Kelly's timeline to shreds.

As reported by Bloomberg News' Shannon Pettypiece, Kelly is now claiming that former staff secretary Rob Porter resigned on the evening of Tuesday, February 6, shortly after Kelly learned about a second allegation of spousal abuse leveled against him.

Kelly then says that there was a "mix up" the next day at the White House, as he believed that Porter would come in the morning to clean out his desk and go through a check-out process. Instead, he says, Porter was apparently still going about his job.

However, Daily Mail reporter David Martosko, whose publication broke news of spousal abuse allegations against Porter, says that the chief of staff's timeline is "bunk."

"We didn't notify the WH about the 1st wife's claims (or the black-eye photos) until the following morning, Feb. 7," he writes. "John Kelly is defending his inaction on Rob Porter by claiming that the first accusation brought to the White House was of only "emotional abuse." Untrue. We told the White House that Jennifer Willoughby claimed he physically dragged her, naked, out of a shower."

Similarly, Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey writes that Kelly and the Trump White House put out statements praising Porter and insisting that he wouldn't resign shortly after Porter supposedly resigned.

"OK, if Rob Porter resigned immediately Tuesday as Kelly says, why did White House tell reporters he wasn't resigning and why did Kelly put out another statement praising him the next day?" he asked. "It doesn't add up."