US Secret Service agents erased texts sent on Jan 6 riots after oversight body requested: Watchdog
Secret Service in trouble
A government watchdog has claimed that the US Secret Service, which is mandated to protect the president, erased their agents’ text messages sent on January 5 and 6, 2021, after the agency’s oversight body requested to review the agents’ response to the January 6 Capitol riot, reports CNN.
The revelations came to the fore after a letter from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) was sent on Thursday to the House homeland security and Senate homeland security and government affairs committees said that messages were erased from the system as part of a device-replacement program after the watchdog asked the agency for records related to its electronic communications.
"First, the Department notified us that many US Secret Service text messages from January 5 and 6, 2021, were erased as part of a device-replacement program. The USSS erased those text messages after OIG requested records of electronic communications from the USSS, as part of our evaluation of events at the Capitol on January 6," the letter from DHS IG Joseph Cuffari stated, according to CNN.
"Second, DHS personnel have repeatedly told OIG inspectors that they were not permitted to provide records directly to OIG and that such records had to first undergo review by DHS attorneys," Cuffari added.
"This review led to weeks-long delays in OIG obtaining records and created confusion over whether all records had been produced."
The latest development comes at a time when Donald Trump and his close advisers are being grilled by the House of Representatives and Justice Department over whether the former president’s supporters encouraged the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol to prevent the certification of Democratic rival Joe Biden as the winner of the November 2020 election.
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They are investigating to find out if Trump deliberately incited the insurrection as an attempted "coup."
The Secret Service has beencriticised for not adequately pre-empting the level of threat and failing to take action against armed Trump supporters on January 6.
(With inputs from agencies)
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