The ex-wife of former White House speechwriter David Sorensen — who resigned last week amid allegations that he abused her — is disputing President Donald Trump's suggestion that Sorenson didn't receive due process.
Jessica Corbett, who first came forward with the allegations last week, told NBC's "Today" in an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday that she was the one being mistreated.
"I got no due process," she said, addressing Trump's tweet last week that Sorensen may have been "falsely accused." The president also suggested there was "no such thing any longer as Due Process."
"I think he knows the truth, but the truth is bad for business," Corbett said about Trump.
She said her ex-husband "got due process when I answered the FBI agents truthfully," adding that she only spoke to the FBI after the agency contacted her last year about Sorenson's security clearance for his White House post.
The agent's first question, Corbett said, was, "Why did you and David get a divorce?"
"Because he was abusive… and I escaped and survived," she said she told the agent.
Corbett told "Today" that Sorensen had thrown her into a wall and burned her with a cigarette during their two-and-a-half year marriage.
"He made me drive around for hours, wondering where I would go, with no money, to beg people for cash so I could go home," Corbett said. "He cut my credit card off, drained my bank account, told me I would be homeless."
Corbett added that she "wasn’t out to get him" by disclosing her accusation publicly.
"People accuse me of trying to bring a good man down, but all I did was tell the truth," she said. "I wasn't out to get him, I was not trying to get him denied this job by telling the truth. I do very much believe he is one of the best and most capable people at what he does professionally."
The Washington Post first reported on Corbett's allegations of physical and emotional abuse last week.
Sorensen, in a statement to NBC News Friday night, denied the allegations.
"I want to be as unequivocal as possible: I have never committed violence of any kind against any woman in my entire life," he said. "In fact, I was the victim of repeated physical violence during our marriage, not her."
Sorenson said he is "pursuing legal options to address her defamation."
A White House official said that Sorensen's position did not require a security clearance, but there was an ongoing background check.
Sorensen's resignation came just days after White House staff secretary Rob Porter departed after his two ex-wives went public with allegations of domestic violence during their marriages to him.