On Tuesday night, following the bombshell testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson about Donald Trump assaulting his Secret Service agent, an “anonymous source” said two agents claimed that was a lie, and that Trump never lunged at the agent.

It turns out the Secret Service agents who have pushed back on Hutchinson’s testimony were “very close” to him and have even been described as “yes men,” according to a Washington Post reporter.

In testimony before the House Jan. 6 Committee on Tuesday, former Mark Meadows aide Hutchinson said she had heard that after the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally, Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle and “lunged” at a Secret Service agent in a desperate attempt to be taken to the Capitol.

Hutchinson testified that Tony Ornato, a Secret Service agent who also served as White House deputy chief of staff, told her about it after Trump was driven back to the White House, where he apparently proceeded to throw his lunch against the wall in anger.

Today's testimony makes clear that Trump wanted to go to the Capitol with the armed mob, despite warnings not to do so from his advisors.

When the Secret Service ruled out the possibility, the former President erupted in anger in the Suburban he was riding in. pic.twitter.com/Ef69CAenn6

— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 28, 2022

Then on Tuesday afternoon, The Washington Post reported that three agents who were with Trump in the vehicle denied that he “assaulted or grabbed at the leader of his security detail or that he grabbed for the steering wheel.” Other publications also reported that Ornato and Bobby Engel, the lead Secret Service agent in the vehicle, are willing to testify to the committee disputing Hutchinson’s account.

Obviously since this would be a major blow to the committee, and a major win for Trump, Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig appeared on MSNBC and offered some background information on Ornato and Engel. And Leonnig is the author of a book on the Secret Service that covers the Trump years…she knows what she’s talking about. Leonnig told Rachel Maddow that both men “were very, very close to President Trump.”

Leonnig said:

“And some people accused them of at times being enablers and ‘yes men’ of the president—particularly Tony Ornato—and very much people who wanted to do what he wanted and see him pleased. And that was frustrating to agents who were more focused on, say, security, or being independent, or good planning. So, both of these individuals lose a little credibility because of how closely they have been seen as aligned to Donald Trump.”

Leonnig then described just how biased some of the agents were:

“There was a very large contingent of Donald Trump’s detail who were personally cheering for Biden to fail. And some of them even took to their personal media accounts to cheer on the insurrection and the individuals riding up to the Capitol as patriots. That is problematic,” Leonnig said.

She continued, “I’m not saying that Tony Ornato or Bobby Engel did that, but they are viewed as being aligned with Donald Trump, which cuts against them. However, if they testify under oath [that] this is what happened, I think that’s going to be important, because Cassidy Hutchinson can only say what she heard happened.”

I find it hard to believe the Committee would have put Hutchinson on the stand if they didn’t KNOW her testimony was 100% true. In fact, the Committee has interviewed Engel, so they already have his testimony. They wouldn’t risk putting Hutchinson on the stand if they thought there was a chance she was lying.

WATCH:

Here is our conversation with @CarolLeonnig , who literally wrote the book on the Secret Service, about the questions surrounding Cassidy Hutchinson's recounting of the story of Donald Trump lunging for the steering wheel when he found out he wasn't going to the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/LYB8zGdvtp

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) June 29, 2022