Two key figures from the Secret Service mentioned in the Jan. 6 committee hearing on Tuesday have already testified to investigators on the panel, but questions remain about what they have said behind closed doors.
Bobby Engel, who was head of former President Donald Trump’s security detail, and Tony Ornato, the White House deputy chief of staff for operations, previously spoke to the House select committee, NBC News reported.
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Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an assistant to chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified on Tuesday in a public hearing that she heard from Ornato that Trump grabbed at the steering wheel and lunged at the driver of the vehicle, Engel, when told on Jan. 6 after his speech on the Ellipse that they could not head to the Capitol.
When Ornato recounted the story, Hutchinson said Engel, who was in the room, did not dispute any of it.
After the hearing, CNN’s Jake Tapper interviewed Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the Jan. 6 committee, and also said that Engel and Ornato have been interviewed by the committee. Raskin said he was not involved in either interview, and claimed he does not know if either one was asked about this incident.
The congressman also stressed that he is not aware of anything that contradicts Hutchinson’s testimony and that witnesses are “free” to come back and add more testimony.
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Tapper is joined by Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey in raising questions about Secret Service testimony.
“Here’s the thing. The committee has Secret Service testimony that would seemingly corroborate or dispute what Cassidy Hutchinson said today, but it wasn’t played. Unclear why,” he tweeted.