Topline
The January 6 committee announced Wednesday that the Secret Service has started turning over records in response to a subpoena seeking deleted text messages from January 5 and 6, 2021, while noting the agency’s practices for preserving records may have been in violation of the Federal Records Act.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), (L) chairman of the January 6 committee, and vice chairwoman Rep. … [+]
Key Facts
The committee tweeted Wednesday afternoon the Secret Service “has begun producing records pursuant to the subpoena we issued last week,” though it did not elaborate what the records contain.
The Secret Service has repeatedly claimed there was no malicious intent in the deletion, which it attributed to “a device-replacement program,” but the committee tweeted it has “concerns about a system migration” that led to the erasure.
The system migration began on January 27, 2021, according to the committee.
The committee said the Secret Service may not have handled records properly prior to the system migration, stating evidence suggests “a possible violation of the Federal Records Act.”
Secret Service spokesman said in a statement Wednesday that the committee’s “work is of paramount importance,” adding “they will continue to have the highest level of cooperation and support from the Secret Service as they have from the beginning.”
What To Watch For
The committee tweeted it is seeking additional records from the Secret Service, but did not specify what those may be.
Key Background
The Secret Service’s response to January 6 and its agents’ intentions on the day of the riot has come under significant scrutiny over the past few weeks, especially after Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari alleged last week the agency deleted the text messages after he requested to see them as part of his review of January 6. The National Archives sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday requesting an investigation to determine whether the texts were “improperly deleted.” The text revelations came just weeks after Greg Jacobs, who served as general counsel to Vice President Mike Pence, testified at a January 6 committee hearing that Pence refused to leave the Capitol with Secret Service agents during the riot over concerns they would have kept him from certifying the election results. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified at a later committee hearing that former President Donald Trump lunged at the throat of Robert Engel, the head of his Secret Service detail, and grabbed the steering wheel of his limo on January 6 after he was informed he wasn’t being taken to the Capitol due to security concerns.
Further Reading
National Archives Reviewing Whether Jan. 6 Secret Service Texts Were ‘Improperly Deleted’ (Forbes)
Secret Service Deleted Trove Of January 6 Texts, Watchdog Says (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/07/20/jan-6-committee-says-secret-service-started-handing-over-records-but-agency-may-have-broken-law/