Inspector General Joseph Cuffari accused Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of trying to suppress a report concerning the Secret Service’s response on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jonathan Meyer, DHS’ head lawyer, vehemently denied the allegation and stated DHS does not want to prevent Congress from reading the entire report. He added that DHS will redact “security sensitive” information pertaining to the Secret Service’s operations, according to a June 25 letter reviewed by POLITICO.
The Secret Service falls under the DHS, and an anonymous DHS official told POLITICO the inspector general “has exclusive authority to determine when to release a report to Congress.”
Cuffari, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, has opened two investigations into the Secret Service’s security role regarding Trump’s attempted assassination thus far. Some Republicans, however, claim DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has stalled these assessments, specifically the report titled “USSS Preparation for and Response to the Events of January 6, 2021.”
Congressional Sources told Real Clear Investigations (RCI) the above report has been sitting on the secretary’s desk “since at least April.”
Law enforcement spotted the gunman almost 30 minutes before he started shooting, sources told WPXI. Similarly, on Jan. 6, it was reported that individuals with weapons were in the area outside the White House.
Additionally, the now Vice President-elect Kamala Harris apparently drove by the pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Washington D.C, CNN first reported. Harris had to be evacuated from the building once the pipe bomb was discovered, POLITICO originally reported.
A bomb-sniffing dog and the Secret Service had previously swept the area, footage released by Republican Kentucky Thomas Massie shows. The footage can be seen here.
DNC Pipe Bomb Discovery
There was also an pipe bomb planted at the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) headquarters, according to a press release from the Committee on House Administration.
In a July 2022 letter from the inspector general to congressional leaders on the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees, Cuffari wrote that “many [Secret Service] text messages, from January 5 and 6, 2021, were erased as part of a device-replacement program.”
Pipe Bomb Suspect Video Released By FBI
Massie Confronts Ray Over Pipe Bomb Video
The letter also stated the Office of Inspector General (OIG) requested those records before the text messages were erased to help evaluate what transpired at the Capitol. Chief of Communications for the Secret Service Anthony Guglielmi, however, claimed this was false and that Secret Service was “fully cooperating” with the inspector general.
Guglielmi also stated it was untrue that the Secret Service or DHS refused additional resources for Trump’s security team. The Washington Post, however, later reported that sources familiar with the requests said they were denied.
The Secret Service is already facing heat for its apparent security failures at the Trump rally. A critical report related to Jan. 6 is slated to be released soon, which may strike another blow to the agency.
Both the DHS and Secret Service have not responded to a request for comment.
