After the revelation that text messages on January 5 and 6, 2021 between Secret Service agents had been deleted, suspicions rose that the deletions were intended to cover agents' role in the insurrection. The Secret Service claims that the erasures were the result of a "device replacement program" that began weeks before January 6.
Late last night, the January 6 House Select Committee subpoenaed the Secret Service for the texts, which are capable of being retrieved through forensic techniques. The Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, which contains the U.S. Secret Service, briefed the Committee yesterday:
"The subpoenas come hours after the nine-member panel received a closed briefing from the watchdog for Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service. The watchdog briefed the lawmakers about his finding that the Secret Service deleted texts from around Jan. 6, according to two people familiar with the matter.
For the Jan. 6 panel, the watchdog’s finding raised the startling prospect of lost evidence that could shed further light on Trump’s actions during the insurrection, particularly after earlier testimony about the president’s confrontation with security as he tried to join supporters at the Capitol. [snip]
While lawmakers were tight-lipped about what they heard, the closed-door briefing with the inspector general, Joseph Cuffari, came two days after his office sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Homeland Security committees stating that Secret Service agents erased messages between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021 'as part of a device-replacement program.' The deletion came after the watchdog office requested records from the agents as part of its probe into events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack, the letter said." (our emphasis)
It's clear that some agents were fond of the Malignant Loser, including his primary agent Bobby Engel and the agent he promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff, Tony Ornato, and appear to be resisting providing information to the Committee to protect their "leader." The more the Committee learns about some Secret Service agents, the more light might be shed on the Malignant Loser's actions on January 5 and 6.
(image: PC Magazine)
