Cheney told the ABC that the panel had spoken with Tony Ornato, then deputy chief of staff of the White House, and Robert Engel, who was the Secret Service agent in charge on January 6, 2021, and before whom Hutchinson testified that he was told Ornato that Trump had fired.
“I don’t want to go into too much detail,” Cheney said. “The committee has spoken with both Mr. Ornato and Mr. Engel, and we welcome the additional testimony under oath from both of them and anyone else from the Secret Service who has information on any of these issues.”
Cheney’s comments are consistent with what other members of the Jan. 6 committee had told CNN and other media earlier this week.
Cheney added, “We’ve been working with the Secret Service. We’ve interviewed, as I said, a number of Secret Service people. We’ll continue to do that. And I think it’s important that your testimony be under oath.”
The Wyoming Republican’s statements were issued the morning after she uttered a scathing rebuke of Trump and GOP leaders at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Wednesday night, in a speech in which she also praised Hutchinson’s bravery.
“I absolutely trust his credibility, his testimony, and the committee will not stay to see how his character is killed by anonymous sources and by men claiming the privilege of the executive,” Cheney told ABC .
After Tuesday’s hearing, a Secret Service official familiar with the matter told CNN that Ornato denies telling Hutchinson that the former president took the wheel or an agent in his detail.
Ornato is known to have a strong relationship with Trump and his team, after receiving an unusual resignation for suspending his time in the U.S. Secret Service to serve as Trump’s deputy chief of staff in the White House. Trump also answered Hutchinson’s testimony.
Cheney was also asked about former White House attorney Pat Cipollone, who was summoned Wednesday to formally testify before the committee.
Cheney said Cipollone “didn’t” say anything that refutes Hutchinson’s testimony, and said he “waits again with his testimony on record. The American people deserve to hear his testimony.”