Secret Service's Tony Ornato who was at center of Jan. 6 hearing departs agency: reports
Tony Ornato, the Secret Service’s assistant director who became a central figure during a Jan. 6 committee hearing in which he reportedly described to a witness that former President Trump was “irate,” has left the agency, according to multiple reports.
Ornato, who at the time of the riot was serving as Trump’s deputy chief of staff, came into the spotlight during testimony by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson who said Ornato told her that Trump was “irate” when Robert Engel, the special agent in charge for Secret Service on Jan. 6, told the former president when he got into the presidential SUV after a speech on the Ellipse that going to the Capitol would not be possible.
Hutchinson also testified that Trump lunged at his security detail and toward the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle demanding to head to Capitol Hill where a mob of his supporters would eventually breach the complex.
Politico reported that Ornato retired, citing a Secret Service spokesperson who indicated Ornato became eligible for retirement earlier this year.
Ornato is not the only senior Secret Service official to announce their departure in recent weeks.
President Biden on Wednesday tapped Kimberly Cheatle to serve as the agency’s next director, taking over for retiring Director James Murray, who briefly delayed his exit as the Secret Service faced scrutiny over its agents’ actions regarding missing text messages just before and on Jan. 6.
The Hill has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
Developing.
Source: TEST FEED1
