Ornato confirmed his departure on Monday, which CNN had previously reported citing two familiar sources. He said he left the agency to pursue a career in the private sector.
“Today I retired to pursue a career in the private sector. I retired from the United States Secret Service after more than 25 years of faithful service to my country, including serving the last five presidents. I had planned to retire for a long time and I have been planning this transition for over a year,” Ornato said in a statement to CNN.
Ornato told CNN that he has not taken on any role with the former president or any of his companies. He declined to name his new employer.
The House Select Committee investigating the insurgency has made clear that it believes Ornato was a central figure who could provide valuable information about Trump’s movements and intentions through Jan. 6 and Jan. 6. move to join the White House staff as deputy chief of staff in December 2019 on a temporary assignment and eventually returned to the Secret Service to run its training program.
According to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who serves on the panel, committee members have emphasized their desire to speak with Ornato and have retained a private attorney. It is unclear whether Ornato will end up testifying related to the claims of Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
So far, Ornato has met with the court twice — in January and March — as part of his investigation, according to a source familiar with his testimony.
Among the issues Ornato discussed with the committee, the source said, were Trump’s knowledge of then-Vice President Mike Pence’s whereabouts during the attack on the U.S. Capitol and whether Trump could have done more to encourage the rioters to calm down and leave the building.
Ornato’s answers to those questions and more have not been disclosed by the committee, and panel members have expressed frustration with aspects of his testimony, with some suggesting he lacks credibility.
Hutchinson specifically testified that Ornato had told her that Trump angrily lashed out and lunged at a member of his protective detail while demanding to be taken to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
A Secret Service official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, previously told CNN that Ornato denies telling Hutchinson that the former president took the wheel of his presidential SUV or an agent in his detail.
Sources told CNN that Ornato had been eligible for retirement since early summer and had been discussing leaving the Secret Service since before Hutchinson’s testimony.
This story was updated Monday with additional information.
CNN’s Paul LeBlanc, Annie Grayer and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.