Secret Service agents’ January 6 texts were erased after oversight request

Office of Inspector General revealed that messages from 5 and 6 January were destroyed only after the request was made

Texts sent between US Secret Service agents on 5 and 6 January 2021 were erased after the agency's oversight body sought the communications in a review into the Capitol attack, according to a letter from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG).

The disclosure in the letter, sent on Thursday to the House homeland security and Senate homeland security and government affairs committees, marked the latest failure for the Secret Service amid increasing scrutiny for their actions over the attack.