The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on July 19 asked the Secret Service to investigate the deletion of texts sent around the time the U.S. Capitol was breached on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Secret Service texts were erased as part of a “device-replacement program,” a watchdog announced this month. The deletions happened after the watchdog, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, requested the records as part of its evaluation of the events surrounding the breach, according to Cuffari.
The Secret Service has said none of the records that were deleted were among the materials Cuffari was seeking.
“NARA requests that the Secret Service look into this matter,” Laurence Brewer, the chief records officer for the U.S. government, told a Secret Service records officer on Tuesday, citing federal law mandating NARA ask for allegations of records being destroyed….