For almost three decades, Anthony Ornato served in law enforcement, starting as a police officer in Waterbury, Connecticut, before joining the Secret Service in 1997. Within the Secret Service, Ornato held a number of roles in various departments, but in 2020 he did something that no Secret Service has done in the history of the nation: He took a political position within the White House, serving as deputy chief of staff to Donald Trump while simultaneously retaining his post at the Secret Service. After Trump reluctantly departed, Ornato was allowed to settle back into the service as the head of new agent training. Now Ornato is retiring, moving on to a private employer he will not name, and as he goes out the door, he is leaving some very big questions unanswered.
In June, Ornato was at the center of jaw-dropping testimony from former aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified before the House select committee on Jan. 6 about the amazing story Ornato told her on that day.
Hutchinson: “The president said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the f’ing president, take me up to the Capitol now!’ To which Bobby responded, ‘Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.’ The president reached up to the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm and said, ‘Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. We’re going back to the West Wing, we’re not going to the Capitol.’ Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge toward Bobby Engel. And when Mr. Ornoto told the story to me, he motioned toward his clavicle.”
Ornato was in his role as deputy chief of staff on Jan. 6. Now he is leaving after never discussing these events with either the Department of Justice or with the House select committee.
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Since the day after Hutchinson’s testimony, CNN has been reporting that Ornato denied telling Hutchinson that Trump assaulted his Secret Service staff. However, that CNN report reportedly comes from “[a] Secret Service official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”
The statements from CNN were part of a wave of immediate right-wing pushback that defended Trump and attempted to vilify Hutchinson, but exactly zero of those people seemed willing to step forward and swear to their statements. In fact, none of them were willing to make their allegations publicly, much less before the House committee or a grand jury. As Joan McCarter pointed out in response, anonymous sources speaking off the record do not equal the testimony of public officials speaking under oath.
If anything, CBS News misrepresents the story more than CNN, saying that “the U.S. Secret Service pushed back on Hutchinson's account, signaling that both Ornato and Engel would be willing to testify in response,” but again all of that came from anonymous sources. There has been no official statement from the Secret Service, and none of those involved—not Ornato, not Bobby Engel, not the sources who “pushed back”—have appeared before the committee to dispute a word of what Hutchinson said.
Ornato did speak with members of the House committee twice, but the last time was in March, months before Hutchinson’s testimony revealed Ornato’s statements on Trump’s actions. Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren has stated that the committee wants to hear from Ornato on this topic, but Ornato’s response seems to have been to “acquire private counsel.” No matter what CNN or CBS says, he has not voluntarily come to the committee to testify on this matter.
Ornato claims that now that he is leaving the Secret Service, he is not going back to work for Trump. However, he has refused to name his new employer.
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