(CNN) White House chief of staff John Kelly continued to misrepresent his handling of the dismissal of former top aide Rob Porter on Friday, defiantly obfuscating on exactly what he knew -- and when -- about the extent of the abuse allegations against Porter's two ex-wives. In some instances, Kelly even directly contradicted some of the White House's public statements delivered last month.

In a rare gathering with reporters in his White House office, Kelly mostly defended his own conduct and insisted that he never considered resigning over the fallout. Porter's two ex-wives accused President Donald Trump's former staff secretary of years of relentless verbal, emotional and physical domestic abuse -- all of which Porter denied.

"I have absolutely nothing to even consider resigning over," Kelly said, even as he acknowledged that senior White House aides "didn't cover ourselves in glory" in how they responded to the scandal.

But Kelly's explanation did not fully comport with CNN's extensive reporting on the Porter scandal.

Even sources inside the White House were befuddled by Kelly's latest explanation. One source with knowledge of the situation told CNN that people inside the White House were stunned by Kelly's reflections on the Porter saga, stating flatly that the chief of staff was not telling the truth. Another said staffers were "puzzled" by his comments.