The Secret Service's deleted text message scandal, and the criminal investigation into it, explained

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.vox.com/23274533/secret-service-text-messages-january-6

The United States Secret Service is a lot like indoor plumbing: It’s something you only think about when there is a problem. While the federal law enforcement agency does have a role investigating financial crimes like counterfeiting, it’s best known for its role protecting members of the executive branch, like the president and vice president and their families.

In this capacity, they are often part of the background. They’re the people in dark suits and earpieces who are always very near the president but ideally just outside the frame. When they come into focus, it’s a sign that something has gone wrong. And things have gone very wrong for the Secret Service lately, as text messages sent by agents during the January 6 attack on the Capitol appear to have been erased.

Last week, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, under which the Secret Service operates, sent a letter to Congress informing them that text messages sent by agents on and before January 6 had been erased. A spokesperson for the Secret Service claimed that this was part of a long-planned “system migration,” but the erasures have now spurred a criminal investigation after investigators could find only a single relevant text message from two dozen agents subject to a congressional subpoena.

Further concerns were raised after the Washington Post reported that the DHS inspector general had known about the erased messages since February but had not said anything.

This prompted a joint statement on Wednesday from Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Liz Cheney (R-WY), the chair and vice chair of the House’s January 6 committee:

We have concerns about a system migration that we have been told resulted in the erasure of Secret Service cell phone data. The U.S. Secret Service system migration process went forward on January 27, 2021, just three weeks after the attack on the Capitol in which the Vice President of the United States while under the protection of the Secret Service, was steps from a violent mob hunting for him. Four House committees had already sought these critical records from the Department of Homeland Security before the records were apparently lost. Additionally, the procedure for preserving content prior to this purge appears to have been contrary to federal records retention requirements and may represent a possible violation of the Federal Records Act.

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