Two former Trump White House aides are accusing a top Secret Service official of being a political loyalist with a history of lying.
The Secret Service official, Anthony Ornato, has been criticized by two former aides for denying that Donald Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent in the front seat of his limo. The Select Committee investigating the Capitol attack was briefed on those allegations last week by another ex- Trump aide.
Hutchinson testified that Trump wanted to join thousands of his followers who marched up to the Capitol after a speech he gave near the White House, and that he became irate after his Secret Service detail told him he had to be returned to the White House for security reasons. According to Hutchinson's testimony, the president tried to turn the limo toward the Capitol after accosted the agent.
Ornato was in charge of operations at the time. A 25-year veteran of the Secret Service, Ornato is now back at the agency as its assistant director in charge of the office of training
Last week, Hutchinson's testimony came under scrutiny after the agent who was accosted by Trump told the Secret Service that the president demanded to be taken to the Capitol but didn't grab him or the steering wheel.
The man in charge of Trump's security detail was in the room at the White House when Ornato recounted the story.
Troye told USA TODAY Saturday that Ornato has a history of changing his story when it becomes politically troublesome for Trump.
An aide says that Trump's rage over the election led to dish- throwing.
Troye said that there was a pattern of conversations that were inconvenient for Tony and then he came back and said that they never happened. It speaks to Tony's character and credibility if he has a history of doing Trump's bidding and denying it to protect him.
In riveting testimony last week, Hutchinson said that Trump wanted to let armed supporters into his rally because he knew they wouldn't hurt him.
She said that Trump wanted to be driven to the Capitol.
He wanted to give a second speech outside the Capitol or inside the complex while Joe Biden was certified as the winner of the 2020 election.
Trump yelled, "I'm the effing president, take me to the Capitol now" when he was told no.
The President grabbed at the steering wheel when he was told they were going back to the White House. Mr. Trump lunged towards Bobby Engel. When Mr. Ornato told me about the story, he moved towards his clavicles.
Although Hutchinson's testimony was full of other similarly explosive disclosures, the image of Trump physically assault a top security aide in an attempt to get to the Capitol immediately went viral.
The Secret Service told reporters that Ornato and Engel were denying parts of Hutchinson's account.
According to a Secret Service official, both are prepared to testify that Trump demanded to be taken to the capitol. Both men denied that Trump grabbed the steering wheel in an attempt to change course.
The Secret Service official suggested that they and the Secret Service itself would reserve comment until both officials could speak under oath and on the record.
A committee spokesman has stood by her comments. Trump denied most of the testimony. Many of his supporters have tried to undermine her credibility by using the controversy.
Is Miss Day 6 of the hearing still going on? A bombshell witness said that Trump knew the mob was dangerous.
There was a former Trump White House official who came to Ornato's defense. I had the pleasure of knowing Tony Ornato, the special agent in charge. He was a trusted and professional agent. His testimony would be taken to the bank.
It was Ornato's credibility that should be questioned according to Troye and Farah. They want him to testify under oath about what happened inside the presidential limo and the actions of the Secret Service.
One of the conversations Tony Ornato denied was cited in a book about the White House.
According to the book "I Alone Can Fix It," Ornato was planning to have the Secret Service move Pence out of the Capitol on January 6 as rioters were looking for him.
One of the book's co-authors, Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post, said that Ornato denied having that conversation.
He denied the story he told Cassidy Hutchinson.
We all know where Tony's loyalties lie. Troye said something else. He should tell the truth.
A former White House communications director weighed in with her own message.
Tony Ornato did the same thing. I told Mark and Ornato that the press needed to be warned before the square was cleared. Meadows said that they weren't doing that. Tony said the exchange didn't happen. He's aware that it did.
Counsel warned of "every crime imaginable" after Trump pushed to go to Capitol.
Leonnig questioned Ornato's honesty when it came to incidents with Trump. She said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that Ornato lied to her and other reporters about the incident at Lafayette Square, saying that Trump aides did not clear the park so he could go to a nearby church.
That is not the case. Leonnig said that he was at the center of that.
Leonnig said that the person was installed in a political White House job because the boss liked him so much. Trump essentially had him directing the Secret Service to make sure that all of his campaign events, all of his photo ops, everything he wanted to do to get reelected, went off without a hitch.
Leonnig said that Trump White House staffers and Secret Service agents have told him that Ornato is a Trump fan. He will fight for the president to the end.
Tony Ornato has told his bosses that Cassidy Hutchinson didn't tell the truth. Leonnig said a lot of things didn't happen.
The full details of what Ornato and Engel said have not been made public.
According to Troye, both of them should testify in response to Hutchinson's allegations so that the committee can understand what happened.
It doesn't matter if he lunged and touched the steering wheel or not. Even though all of these people had weapons, the President felt safe going to the Capitol because he wanted to.
Two former White House aides said the top Secret Service official may have lied to protect Trump.
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