DHS Watchdog Opens Probe Into Secret Service Texts, Orders Agency to Halt Its Own Investigation
23:34 GMT 21.07.2022 (Updated: 02:37 GMT 23.07.2022)
© AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
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The US House select committee probing the January 6, 2021, insurrection flagged the Secret Service for suspicious practices in a Wednesday memo, noting the panel has “concerns about a system migration that we have been told resulted in the erasure of Secret Service cell phone data.” The DHS watchdog’s memo was issued the same day.
The US Secret Service, the agency charged with protecting the nation’s heads of state, is at the center of a criminal investigation led by the US Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.
Ayala is probing the supposed disappearance of text messages related to Trump’s behavior on January 6, including the former president’s alleged lunge at the steering wheel. Trump has denied this allegation.
"This is to notify you that the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has an ongoing investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the collection and preservation of evidence by the United States Secret Service as it relates to the events of January 6, 2021,” Gladys Ayala, the DHS' deputy inspector general, wrote in a July 20 memo to Secret Service Director James Murray.
The probe focuses on the agency’s delivery of a single text thread in response to a subpoena from the January 6 panel that requested text messages sent and received by two dozen Secret Service officials on January 5, 2021, and the date of the insurrection.
The letter also stated the federal law enforcement agency must suspend and refrain from any investigative actions or communications related to the matter.
“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,” read the letter. “This includes immediately refraining from interviewing potential witnesses, collecting devices or taking any other action that would interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation.”
The Secret Service confirmed receipt of the letter on Thursday, noting it had also communicated the matter to the January 6 panel because there may be conflicting demands.
“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,” the federal law enforcement agency told NBC News.
Findings from the criminal oversight probe can be referred to federal prosecutors.
"We are unaware of a criminal allegation, but are committed to cooperating with the Inspector General,” a spokesperson for the Secret Service told CNN.
The potentially conflicting demand from the DHS inspector general came alongside a scathing, same-day letter from Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Liz Cheney (R-WY), chair and vice chair of the Jan. 6 panel, who voiced concerns that law enforcement officials could have violated the Federal Records Act.
“The Select Committee is seeking additional Secret Service records as well,” the joint memo highlighted. Thousands of other records have been turned over and are being reviewed by investigative officials, according to the panel.
This exhibit from video released by the House Select Committee, shows a U.S. Secret Service intelligence report, displayed at a hearing by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, June 28, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
© House Select Committee
In addition to congressional and federal requests, the federal agency is also faced with ensuring it is not violating its own policy, which allows for “limited personal use” of US government phones and could complicate what would be deemed as government records.
"That is the crux of the investigation," a Secret Service official told CBS News. "If there is material from Secret Service official to Secret Service official that is deemed a government record, then that should have been uploaded by the employee. That is what the Inspector General and the Secret Service are looking at."
