Tony Ornato was the Secret Service agent in charge of then President Donal Trump’s security detail.
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Tony Ornato, the Secret Service agent who ran Donald Trump’s detail, has retired from the agency.
Ornato was central to Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony about Trump’s behavior on January 6, 2021.
He was set to be interviewed by DHS investigators on August 31, The Intercept reported.
Tony Ornato, the longtime Secret Service agent who ran former President Donald Trump’s security detail, left the Secret Service on Monday, according to multiple media reports.
His departure came two months after he was identified as a central figure in former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s bombshell testimony before the House committee investigating the Capitol riot.
Hutchinson had shared with the panel what Ornato had told her about Trump’s behavior leading up to and during the insurrection on January 6, 2021. Among other details, she said Ornato told her about how Trump had tried to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle he was traveling in and lunged at a Secret Service agent while demanding to be taken to the Capitol.
Ornato told CNN in a statement: “I did retire today to pursue a career in the private sector. I retired from the US Secret Service after more than 25 years of faithful service to my country, including serving the past five presidents. I long-planned to retire and have been planning this transition for more than a year.”
He also told the outlet that he hasn’t taken up any roles working for Trump or the former president’s organizations.
His retirement comes two days before he was set to be interviewed by Department of Homeland Security investigators as part of a probe into the Capitol riot, according to The Intercept.
The outlet reported that it had obtained several emails sent between Ornato and DHS investigators, in which Ornato agreed to an interview on August 31. The Intercept reported that the investigators wanted to speak with Ornato as early as June 29 but that he told them he’d be on vacation and would “circle back” with them after August 24.
Per The Intercept, Ornato has indicated in an email that he still intends to attend the interview. However, investigators can no longer compel him to cooperate as a federal employee in his testimony because he is now a private citizen.
Members of the House Oversight Committee have noted a trend of former officials refusing to be interviewed for investigations into Trump after they quit. In response, the committee introduced the IG Testimonial Subpoena Authority Act, which would give investigators the power to subpoena individuals beyond current federal employees. However, the bill has yet to pass the Senate.
CNN previously reported, citing an anonymous source, that Ornato had met with the January 6 House Select committee in January and March — prior to Hutchinson’s testimony. The questions and answers from those sessions have not been released.
In July, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat on the committee, said the group intends to speak with Ornato again.
It’s still unclear if Ornato will eventually address Hutchinson’s claims under oath, but he is said to have privately disputed Hutchinson’s claims about the conversations they shared over Trump that day.
He has also been accused by former White House officials Olivia Troye and Alyssa Farah Griffin of lying for the former president.