Inspector General Joseph Khufari accused the Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of trying to cover up a report on the Secret Service's response on January 6, 2021.
DHS Chief Counsel Jonathan Meyer strongly denied the allegations and said the agency had no intention of blocking Congress from reading the full report, according to the June 25 letter, adding that DHS would redact “highly sensitive” information about Secret Service activities. examination From POLITICO.
The Secret Service reports to the Department of Homeland Security, and an anonymous DHS official told Politico that the inspector general “has exclusive authority to determine when to submit the report to Congress.”
Khufari, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, has two investigation It examined the Secret Service's security role in previous assassination attempts on President Trump, but some Republicans have argued that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is delaying these assessments, particularly the report titled “USSS Preparedness and Response to the Events of January 6, 2021.”
According to a congressional source Real Clear Investigations (RCI) The report has been on the Secretary's desk “since at least April.”
Police found the gunman about 30 minutes before he began shooting, sources said. Said WPXI. Similarly, on January 6th report There were armed individuals in the area outside the White House.
Additionally, current Vice President-elect Kamala Harris drove through a pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Washington, D.C., as first reported by CNN. reportPolitico initially reported that Harris had to evacuate the building after the pipe bomb was discovered. report.
Bomb-sniffing dogs and the Secret Service had previously searched the area, according to footage released by Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. here.
Pipe bombs were also reportedly planted at the Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters. press release From the House Administration Committee.
July 2022 letter From the inspector general to congressional leaders on the House and Senate Homeland Security committees, Caffari said, “a lot of [Secret Service] Text messages from January 5th and 6th, 2021, have been erased as part of the device exchange program.”
The letter also said the Office of Inspector General (OIG) had requested the text messages before they were deleted to assess what happened at the Capitol. However, Secret Service Communications Director Anthony Guglielmi said: Claimed The Secret Service maintained that this was false and that it had “fully cooperated” with the inspector general.
Guglielmi also said that stories that the Secret Service or Department of Homeland Security had refused to allocate additional resources to Trump's security team were not true. The Washington PostHowever, it was later reported that the request was denied, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The Secret Service has already come under fire for security failings at Trump rallies. report Documents related to the Jan. 6 attack are expected to be released soon, which could deal a further blow to the agency.
DHS and the Secret Service did not respond to requests for comment.
