Topline
Secret Service text messages exchanged during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and from the day before were deleted after a federal investigator requested the records, according to a letter from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, as questions swirl about what the Secret Service’s intentions were on the day of the riot.
Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January … [+]
Key Facts
The letter, obtained by multiple news outlets, stated the texts were “erased as part of a device-replacement program” after the inspector general requested the records as part of its review of the January 6 riot.
DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari did not state whether he believed the erasure was intentional, in his letter sent Wednesday to the House and Senate Homeland Security committees and later to the January 6 committee.
Cuffari also said DHS officials “repeatedly” told his office they could not turn over the records until they were reviewed by the department’s attorneys.
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
The story was first reported by investigative news outlet the Intercept.
Crucial Quote
“The Committee will be briefed about this extraordinarily troubling destruction of records and respond accordingly,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the January 6 committee, said in a statement to CNN.
Key Background
Testimony presented at January 6 committee hearings in recent weeks has prompted significant scrutiny of Secret Service agents’ actions on January 6. Greg Jacob, who served as general counsel for former Vice President Mike Pence, testified last month that Secret Service agents wanted to whisk Pence away from the Capitol during the riot, but he refused to go with them over concerns it would prevent him from certifying the 2020 election results. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified at a June 28 hearing that former President Donald Trump grabbed the steering wheel of his limo and lunged at the throat of Robert Engel, the head of his Secret Service detail, when he was told he wasn’t being taken to the Capitol on January 6 due to security concerns. Secret Service agents have reportedly denied the account.
Further Reading
Secret Service Deleted Jan. 6 Text Messages After Oversight Officials Requested Them (Intercept)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/07/14/secret-service-deleted-trove-of-january-6-texts-watchdog-says/