John Kelly 'Stunned' Congresswoman Listened In On Gold Star Family's Conversation

WASHINGTON, DC — White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Thursday he was "stunned" by Rep. Frederica Wilson's criticism of President Trump's call to a soldier's widow. Wilson said that the call upset the widow even further.

She has said Trump said of the soldier, Sgt. La David Johnson, that, "He knew what he signed up for." Wilson later said of the president that she wanted to "curse him out" for making the remarks.

Kelly confirmed that Trump said Johnson "knew what he was getting himself into." Trump had denied Wilson's account of the conversation, and said he had "proof" that it was false. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump's "proof" was that other people, including Kelly, had heard the conversation.

Watch: Kelly: 'Stunned' Over Criticism Of Trump Call

Johnson's mother later told reporters that Wilson's account was accurate and that Trump had been disrespectful to her grieving family. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"It stuns me that a member of Congress would have listened in on that conversation," Kelly said at the briefing. "Absolutely stunned me."

Wilson is close with the Johnson family and was with the widow in a limousine at the time of the call. She had mentored Sgt. Johnson before his death.

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Kelly also lamented the idea that Gold Star families, woman and religion may no longer be "sacred."

"When I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country," he said. “Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor. That’s obviously not the case anymore, as we see from recent cases."

It's unclear exactly what he was referring to, although is comment came after as many as 40 women have accused Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Oscar-winning movie producer, of sexual harassment, and the #MeToo hashtag continues to trend as women around the world share their stories of sexual assault and harassment.

Kelly only took a few questions and said he would only take questions from reporters who knew Gold Star families. Though Sanders introduced Kelly, she did not take any questions when he finished his remarks.

The White House found itself in the middle of this controversy about contacts with the families of fallen soldiers on Monday. After President Trump falsely said that other presidents didn't call the families, multiple reports found that Trump himself had not called multiple family members of soldiers who died since he's been in office. The Washington Post found one father of a fallen soldier to whom Trump promised $25,000 which he hadn't received. The White House now says that the check is on its way.

You can watch a replay of proceedings below.

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Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images