The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Secret Service erased texts from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, official says

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Updated July 15, 2022 at 11:54 a.m. EDT|Published July 14, 2022 at 9:06 p.m. EDT
The House Jan. 6 select committee's chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), closes the seventh public hearing in Washington on July 12. (Reuters/Pool)
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A government watchdog accused the U.S. Secret Service of erasing texts from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, after his office requested them as part of an inquiry into the U.S. Capitol attack, according to a letter sent to lawmakers this week.

Joseph V. Cuffari, head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, wrote to the leaders of the House and Senate Homeland Security committees indicating that the text messages have vanished and that efforts to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack were being hindered.