A member of the US Secret Service looks out from the roof of the White House in Washington, DC on August 21, 2021.
Andrew Caballero Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog has opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of Secret Service phone text messages related to the days around the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The Secret Service was informed of the probe Wednesday night by the office of the Inspector General of DHS, who ordered the agency to stop any internal investigations into the deleted text messages, NBC reported.
The House select committee investigating the Capitol riot last week issued a subpoena to the Secret Service seeking text messages after learning from the IG that messages from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, had been erased, purportedly as the result of a “device replacement program.”
On Wednesday, the committee said the Secret Service may have violated federal records-keeping law in deleting the messages.
DHS deputy inspector general Gladys Ayala in her letter to Secret Service Director James Murray later Wednesday wrote, “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.”
“This includes immediately refraining from interviewing potential witnesses, collecting devices or taking any other action that would interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation.,” Ayala wrote.
The Secret Service in a statement Thursday said it was “in receipt of the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s letter.”
“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 Secret Service said.
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