The Secret Service erased text messages from January 5 and January 6, 2021, according to a letter given to the January 6 committee and reviewed by The Intercept.
The letter was originally sent by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General to the House and Senate homeland security committees.
Though the Secret Service maintains that the text messages were lost as a result of a “device-replacement program,” the letter says the erasure took place shortly after oversight officials requested the agency’s electronic communications.
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When rioters entered the building, the Secret Service tried to whisk Pence away from the scene.
“I’m not getting in the car,” Pence reportedly told the Secret Service detail on January 6.
It is unclear from the letter whether all of the messages were deleted or just some. »