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National Archives Asks Secret Service to Probe Deleted Texts

WASHINGTON — The National Archives on Tuesday requested that the Secret Service investigate “the potential unauthorized deletion” of agency text messages sent and received around the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

After revelations last week of text messages that were sent at the Capitol attack time, the Secret Service is under intense scrutiny. As a result, the House Committee investigating Jan. 6’s investigation subpoenaed the communications and related records.

The Secret Service has said all procedures were followed and pledged “full cooperation” with the Archives’ review.

“The United States Secret Service respects and supports the important role of the National Archives and Records Administration in ensuring the preservation of government records,” said agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

Continue reading: Jan. 6, was just the beginning for the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers

The deletion of the messages has raised the prospect of lost evidence that could shed further light on then-President Donald Trump’s actions during the insurrection, particularly after testimony about his confrontation with security as he tried to join supporters at the Capitol.

The National Archives is responsible for government records-keeping and asked the Secret Service for assistance in investigating the possibility of erasure of messages. They were to report back within thirty days.

“Through several news sources, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has become aware of the potential unauthorized deletion of United States Secret Service (Secret Service) text messages,” Laurence Brewer, the chief record keeper for the U.S., said in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security.

If it is determined any text messages were deleted, the agency must detail what records were affected, a statement on the reasoning for deletion, plan for establishing safeguards to prevent future loss as well as “details of all agency actions taken to salvage, retrieve, or reconstruct the records,” the letter read.

The potential loss of the records first came to light last week when the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, in a letter obtained by The Associated Press, told lawmakers that Secret Service messages between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, were erased “as part of a device-replacement program.”

After being asked for in an investigation of the Jan. 6 attack, the watchdog stated that the messages had been deleted.

The Secret Service responded by telling AP that “the insinuation that the Secret Service maliciously deleted text messages following a request is false.”

“In fact, the Secret Service has been fully cooperating with the OIG in every respect — whether it be interviews, documents, emails, or texts,” Secret Service spokesman Guglielmi said.

Continue reading: Trump’s White House Treated Him Like a Child. Congress Won’t.

He said the Secret Service had started to reset its mobile devices to factory settings in January 2021 “as part of a pre-planned, three-month system migration.” In that process, some data was lost.

The nine-member House Jan. 6 panel has taken a recent, renewed interest in the Secret Service following the dramatic testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson about Trump’s actions on the day of the insurrection.

Also Tuesday, Guglielmi said the agency had sent an initial set of documents and records to congressional investigators but it remains unclear if it falls within the requirements of the committee’s subpoena.

The Jan. 6 Committee did not respond to a request for comments.

Associated Press journalist Mike BalsamoContributed to the report.

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