Secret Service employees were told on at least two occasions, including once before Jan. 6, 2021, to preserve their phone records before a planned reset, according to a report.
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The disclosure sheds light on what was going on behind the scenes at the Secret Service as the agency faces intense criticism for apparently not preserving text messages requested by the Homeland Security Department inspector general and the House Jan. 6 committee from agents on the day of the Capitol riot and the day before.
The first reminder to preserve records was an email from the Secret Service’s Office of Strategic Planning sent in December 2020, and the second reminder was sent by the agency’s chief information officer in January 2021. Both emails included instructions on how employees could preserve their phone records, a senior Secret Service official told NBC News.
“The migration was planned well before January 2021,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at an event Tuesday, referring to a data migration the Secret Service has blamed for the deletions. “I think the facts will be disclosed, and we will address the facts as they are learned, or continue to be learned, and we will learn from it.”
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A specific date for when the emails were sent was not given.
The Secret Service gave a single text exchange to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Tuesday. The message was given in response to a request from DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, who asked in June 2021 for text messages sent between Secret Service members between Dec. 7, 2020, and Jan. 8, 2021, according to a letter from Ronald Rowe, assistant director for the Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs.
Officials concluded on Tuesday the agency no longer possessed the text messages, which lawmakers hoped would shed light on actions in the days leading up to Jan. 6. The National Archives and Records Administration called on the Secret Service to investigate whether the messages were “improperly deleted,” giving officials 30 days to detail their findings.
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Secret Service text messages could shed light on what happened behind the scenes on or before the day of the Capitol riot. In June, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified at a public Jan. 6 committee hearing that former President Donald Trump attempted to commandeer a Secret Service vehicle and lunged at an agent when he was told they would not drive to the Capitol after he delivered a speech on the Ellipse. Those claims have been disputed by Trump.
The Jan. 6 committee is slated to hold another public hearing Thursday focusing on Trump’s actions while the Capitol riot unfolded.
