DHS has launched criminal probe into destruction of Jan. 6 Secret Service text messages, sources say

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Source: NBC News

The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General has launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the destruction of Secret Service text messages that may have been relevant to inquiries about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The results of the investigation could be referred to federal prosecutors, the sources said, depending on the results.

The DHS Inspector General informed the Secret Service on Wednesday evening that the investigation is now criminal and that it should halt all internal investigations on the missing text messages, according to a letter detailed to NBC News.

“To ensure the integrity of our investigation, the USSS must not engage in any further investigative activities regarding the collection and preservation of the evidence referenced above,” DHS Deputy Inspector General Gladys Ayala wrote in a letter to Secret Service Director James Murray on Wednesday evening. “This includes immediately refraining from interviewing potential witnesses, collecting devices or taking any other action that would interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/dhs-launched-criminal-probe-destruction-jan-6-secret-service-text-mess-rcna39392

[onecaliberal]

1. Absolutely, people need to go to prison.

[MOMFUDSKI]

2. Dealing with these assholes

is like following behind an elephant with a shovel. Hard to keep up. Zone is FLOODED.

[gab13by13]

3. Yeah but, what about this?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/secret-service-watchdog-knew-texts-were-missing-in-february-but-didn-t-tell-congress/ar-AAZP7yh?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=697e4a81d5464de68734ef7c1d589b33

[FarPoint]

4. Don't we have a different Inspector General for Homeland Security now?

Plus, there are other ways to collect this information....messages have a receiver in communications and messages can be forwarded as well....Sworn testimony as well...

It's not over folks...

[gab13by13]

5. Doesn't look like it.

Joseph V. Cuffari
Joseph V. Cuffari was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General on July 25, 2019. Dr. Cuffari previously served as the policy advisor for Military and Veterans Affairs for Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona, and previously for Governor Jan Brewer.

[FarPoint]

6. Okay...thank you....

so many names to remember these days....

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. I think that the DOJ at some point needs to get involved

[choie]

7. Fox meet henhouse

the IG, Cuffari, is a trump appointee.

[Me.]

8. DHS Is Launching An Investigation?

THey need to be investigated

[gab13by13]

10. Exactly,

The IG nominated by Trump, who delayed notifying Congress, who must have approved Tony Ornato's leave of absence to go work in the White House, is going to investigate the Secret Service. What a bunch of horse shit. Where is the FBI? Where is Alejandro Mayorkas?

[ancianita]

11. Secret Service Director, James Murray, directly reports to Mayorkas. Mayorkas has come

out in support of the way the Secret Service is run, even with Cuffari being the IG.

It's all suspect, imo, and Mayorkas is being as hands off as is Murray, allowing the SS to break federal records laws and daring the DOJ to do anything about it. It's how it looks to me so far.

The less Mayorkas says and does, below, at the Aspen Security Forum, the more he seems complicit in whatever Murray has allowed, imo, by preferring to focus on citizen participants in Jan 6 over his Secret Service.When he does speak to the SS, he's supportive and passively goes along with what media finds out, and expects everyone else to find out, as Cuffari has allegedly done.

I believe (tell me if I'm wrong) that the Jan 6 committee's subpoena has directed the SS not to alter or change any texts, devices, etc. since this particular interview. Mr. Optimist speaks like a bureaucrat ("my people's jobs are HARD, man&quot deflecting to foreign adversaries rather than any domestic groups' intent to destabilize this government.

Biden needs to have a sitdown with them, imo.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. WaPo has their story out

Watchdog launches criminal probe over missing Secret Service messages

By Maria Sacchetti and Carol D. Leonnig

July 21, 2022 at 6:57 p.m. EDT


The Department of Homeland Security’s watchdog has launched a criminal probe into the Secret Service’s erased text messages from around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The department’s Office of Inspector General immediately instructed Secret Service to halt its forensic search for agents’ telephone texts.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed Thursday that the inspector general notified the agency in a letter about the investigation. He said the Secret Service alerted lawmakers investigating the Capitol attack by supporters of former president Donald Trump about the probe.

“We have informed the January 6th Select Committee of the Inspector General’s request and will conduct a thorough legal review to ensure we are fully cooperative with all oversight efforts and that they do not conflict with each other,” Guglielmi said in a statement. The letter from Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari’s office came within an hour of a Washington Post story Wednesday revealing that his office had failed for months to alert Congress that the Secret Service deleted texts for this key period of time surrounding Jan. 6.

The letter from Cuffari’s office also came after the Secret Service notified the House select committee that it could provide no new texts in response to their subpoena last week due to massive deletions of those records — and also that the agency had launched a fresh investigation to see if it could find them. CNN and NBC News first reported the OIG investigation Thursday.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/21/oig-secret-service-texts/

[sybylla]

13. If DHS knew this in Feb 2021, why are they just now investigating?

Or has that information shared with the public a couple of days ago been retracted?

There are two groups with oversight here who did nothing until now. Why? I don't get it.

[mpcamb]

14. Just make sure no trump flunkies among the investigation committee...

[Cha]

15. That's Good but didn't they drop the ball?

I thought I read something about that yesterday.

Focus!
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