/220714-secret-service-capitol-ew-553p-677cc3.jpg "Members of the Secret Service Counter Assault Team walk through the U.S. Capitol rotunda as they and other federal police forces respond to violence by protesters loyal to President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.J. Scott Applewhite / AP file")
The Secret Service erased text messages from both Jan. 6 and the day before the attack on the Capitol after the Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog requested records of electronic communications tied to the insurrection, according to a letter sent to congressional committees that was obtained by NBC News.
The details about the erased messages were revealed in a letter to two congressional committees Wednesday, in which Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said he was informed that many of the messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, had been erased “as part of a device-replacement program.”
The Intercept first reported the content of the letters.
A spokesperson for the House Homeland Security Committee confirmed the letter, which was also given to the Jan. 6 committee, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.
