Yesterday evening's late breaking news that the Secret Service erased text messages on January 5 and 6, 2021, despite a request for them by the Inspector General for Homeland Security, raises questions about their knowledge and participation in the January 6 unsuccessful coup against our democracy. Coupled with the Secret Service's attempt to downplay the Malignant Loser's demand to join the rioters at the Capitol on January 6, and his promotion of a former agent, Tony Ornato, to Deputy Chief of Staff, suggest the service has something serious to hide.
The Inspector General originally sent a letter to the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees indicating that the text messages for those days were erased as part of a cell phone replacement / data migration project, after they were requested by the IG. According to excerpts from the letter:
"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.
"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." (our emphasis)
The Secret Service pushed back on the IG's allegations in a statement, indicating in part that "none of the texts [the IG] was seeking had been lost in the migration."
The House Select Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson has asked for a briefing about what he called, "extraordinarily troubling destruction of records and respond accordingly." He has reason to be concerned about this and the Secret Service's actions before and during the Capitol attack:
"The Secret Service has been in the spotlight since witnesses have described how former President Donald Trump angrily demanded that his detail take him to the Capitol following his speech at the White House Ellipse -- shortly before rioters breached the building.
A former adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence also referenced the Secret Service in his testimony. Greg Jacob, Pence's former counsel, told the panel that Pence refused to get into the vice presidential vehicle after being evacuated from the Capitol, raising concerns that the [Secret Service] driver would have taken him to a secure location and thus prevent him from certifying the electoral results." (our emphasis)
There's clearly more that needs to be revealed, and if some Trumpist Secret Service or Homeland Security members deliberately erased important messages, they need to face consequences.
