Secret Service agents stand guard as Former President Donald Trump sits to be removed from office at the NYS Attorney General’s office on August 10, 2022 in New York City. A top Secret Service official who previously held a political position in Trump’s White House left the agency on Monday to work in the private sector.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | beautiful pictures
A top Secret Service official who served in a political position in Trump’s White House left the agency on Monday to work in the private sector.
Tony Ornato, who was an assistant director at the Secret Service, said his departure was planned more than a year ago, before explosive congressional testimony This summer about the former President Donald Trumptheir actions on January 6.
“I retired today to pursue a career in the private sector,” Ornato told NBC News. “I have retired from the United States Secret Service after more than 25 years of faithful service to my country, including serving five previous presidents. I have been planning to retire for a long time and have planned it. planning this transition over a year.”
Secret Service agent Kevin Helgert said the retired Ornato was “in good shape.”
Ornato detailed Trump’s defense and made the unusual transition to a political position as White House deputy chief of staff for operations in 2019 before he returned to the Secret Service to help oversee the office. training department of this institution.
Ornato became a key figure in the House committee’s investigation on January 6 into the uprising when former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified at a public hearing that Ornato described to her a incident inside an armored SUV carrying Trump on January 6, 2021. Hutchinson Ornato said that Trump was rushing at the driver and emphasized that they arrived at the Capitol, where his supporters were gathering. Hutchinson’s account has been dispute by several people familiar with the matter.
His departure from the Secret Service comes amid other high-profile changes at the agency. James Murray announced his retirement as director last month, before congressional uproar over the disappearance of the Secret Service message from January 6 to be made public. President Joe Biden was appointed last week Kim Cheatle as Murray’s successor.
Representative Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, said in an interview Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the panel is reviewing the messages. text is missing and is likely to “get an answer to that” by the time it restarts public hearings next month.
Ornato testified to the Home Panel behind closed doors, according to an aide.
