Washington
CNN
—
Congressman. Zoe Lofgren, a member of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol told CNN on Sunday that the panel will ask former Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Onato to testify again.
“We can call Secret Service witnesses back to ask some additional questions in the near future,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “CNN Newsroom,” explaining that the panel wanted ” Go through all the documentary evidence…over a million documents,” they’re done now.
The House select committee made it clear that Onato was a central figure who could provide valuable information about former President Donald Trump’s actions and intentions ahead of Jan. 6.
Not only did Onato once manage Trump’s details, but he also made an unprecedented move, joining the White House staff on a temporary assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff in December 2019 and eventually returning to the Secret Service to perform its training plan.
So far, Ornato has met with the panel twice in January and March as part of the investigation.
It is unclear whether Onato will eventually testify against the claims of former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Hutchinson testified in particular that Onato told her that Trump angrily lashed out at one of his protection details members when he asked to be taken to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Lofgren said on Sunday that she could not expand the House of Representatives any further. Pete Aguilar, who made comments at a public hearing on Thursday, said the committee was examining whether there was an attempt to obstruct testimony related to the incident.
“It’s not just about the events, it’s the testimony — I would say, we have questions about the advice given to certain witnesses and whether all witnesses are fully candid with the committee, and that’s what we’re doing, I think judicial Ministry will be very interested,” Lofgren said.
Asked on Sunday who else in the Secret Service would be called back to testify, Lofgren also mentioned Robert Engel, the head of Trump’s Secret Service, “and a few others,” without specifying who.
“We wanted to make sure that what we got was the straight story. Some of the testimonies we received seemed to be inconsistent with some of the documents, so we need to get a better understanding of that from them,” she said.
This story has been updated with more information on Sunday.