The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog has opened a criminal investigation into the deleted Secret Service text messages related to the days on and around the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
The missing text messages, which the Jan. 6 committee investigating the Capitol riot has asked for, could provide new information regarding what happened behind the scenes on or before the day of the riot. The office of the DHS inspector general ordered the Secret Service to stop any internal investigations into the deleted text messages, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
“To ensure the integrity of our investigation, the USSS must not engage in any further investigative activities regarding the collection and preservation of the evidence referenced above,” DHS Deputy Inspector General Gladys Ayala wrote in a letter to the agency. “This includes immediately refraining from interviewing potential witnesses, collecting devices or taking any other action that would interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation."The Secret Service has informed the Jan.
A report released Wednesday claimed that the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of the Secret Service, knew in February the texts had been erased but did not alert Congress for months. DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari informed two House committees just last week that many messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the Capitol riot, had been erased"as part of a device-replacement program.
Another report stated that agency members were reminded on at least two occasions to preserve their phone records before the planned reset, the first reminder in December 2020 and the second in January 2021. Both emails included instructions on how employees could preserve their phone records.As of Thursday, the Secret Service has only provided a single text exchange to the committee.
The Jan. 6 committee is slated to hold another public hearing Thursday focusing on former President Donald Trump's actions on the day.
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