The Defense Department wiped the data from the phones belonging to top officials in the Trump administration, deleting text messages that were sent at about the time of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog organization, sought as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit the records from the officials’ phones in the days after the Jan. 6 attack to gain insight into how the government responded while rioters breached the Capitol. However, the DOD responded in March, saying the requested records “were not preserved and therefore could not be searched” because “when an employee separates from DOD or Army he or she turns in the government issued phone, and the phone is wiped,” according to the court filings.
“It’s just astounding to believe that the agency did not understand the importance of preserving its records — particularly [with regards] to the top officials that might have captured: what they were doing when they were doing it, why they were doing, it on that day,” Heather Sawyer, executive director of American Oversight, told CNN.
NEW: In court filings related to our FOIA litigation, DOD & the Army admitted they failed to preserve text messages from Jan. 6, 2021. Officials’ phones were “wiped” & “text messages not preserved.” We’re asking AG Merrick Garland to open an investigation.https://t.co/4ffTATwSAR pic.twitter.com/BnqvMJdkkq
— American Oversight (@weareoversight) August 2, 2022
The lost communications between top Defense officials such as former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, former chief of staff Kash Patel, and former Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy are considered crucial to understanding the government’s response during the Capitol riot. The Homeland Security Department inspector general has taken investigative steps looking into missing text messages between Secret Service members at about the time of the Capitol riot, though that inquiry has taken fire over allegations that the independent watchdog has participated in a cover-up. American Oversight called for an inquiry into the Defense Department, too.
via joemiller