Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The Jan. 6 select committee has interviewed the top Secret Service agent on then-President Donald Trump\u2019s protective detail during the Capitol attack, according to three people familiar with the probe.<\/p>\n
Robert Engel was the special agent in charge on Jan. 6, 2021, meaning he was responsible for protecting the president from \u201csocks on to socks off\u201d \u2014 the whole work day. In that role, he rode from the White House to that day’s “Stop the Steal” rally with Trump in the presidential armored car called \u201cThe Beast.\u201d <\/p>\n
Engel was also backstage at the rally and close to the then-president throughout the day as violence unfolded when thousands of pro-Trump rally participants marched to the Capitol to try to disrupt congressional certification of the 2020 election.<\/p>\n
Because of that work, Engel has detailed insight on a key select committee focus: how the Secret Service handled the day\u2019s chaos.<\/p>\n
A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency has cooperated fully with the committee probe. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single member of the Secret Service who was requested by the committee has been provided to them,\u201d said Anthony Guglielmi, the agency\u2019s communications chief. \u201cWe fully support and are cooperating with the committee\u2019s work. Employees, documentation, whatever is requested by the committee, we have cooperated with.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Jan. 6 select panel spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n
Secret Service agents generally feel deep discomfort when fielding investigators\u2019 questions about their protectees. That\u2019s because they can\u2019t protect those people without significant trust in the relationship. And the prospect of investigators demanding closely held details about those protectees can generate concerns. <\/p>\n
Jeffrey Robinson, who co-authored a book<\/a> with a former Secret Service agent about that agent\u2019s work, said in an interview that investigators\u2019 interviews with Secret Service agents can potentially create \u201ca violation of the trust that has to be built up between the protectors and the protectee.\u201d But, he added, the committee\u2019s move still makes sense.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be negligent if they didn\u2019t, and also Pence\u2019s detail,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cThey have to. These are direct witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Engel was closely involved in talks about whether or not Trump himself could go to the Capitol after the rally. In the days leading up to the “Stop the Steal” rally, according to a Secret Service official, White House staff asked Tony Ornato \u2014 then temporarily working as White House deputy chief of staff \u2014 if it would be feasible for the president to travel from the Ellipse to the Capitol building. Ornato referred the staff to Engel, who was one of the top Secret Service agents responsible for Trump\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Trump famously said during the Jan. 6 rally that he planned to go to the Capitol. \u201c[W]e are going to \u2014 we are going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, I love Pennsylvania Avenue, and we are going to the Capitol.\u201d<\/p>\n After making that remark, Secret Service personnel reached out to other law enforcement partners to figure out if this move was feasible, a detail first reported by the Washington Post<\/a>. Engel himself, meanwhile, conveyed to the relevant parties that transporting Trump to the Capitol would be unfeasible.<\/p>\n Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesperson, said agency personnel inquired into the feasibility of transporting Trump to the Capitol after he made his rally remarks. But the agency never made \u201can operational plan\u201d to do so, he added.<\/p>\n