Justice department urged to investigate deletion of January 6 texts by Pentagon
Watchdog group calls on Merrick Garland asked to investigate deleted phone messages from senior Trump officials
In an open letter to Garland, American Oversight said: “We urge you to investigate DoD’s failure to preserve the text messages of several high-ranking officials on or surrounding the day of the January 6 attack.”
In its Freedom of Information request, American Oversight sought the release of communications between senior officials and Trump, his vice-president, Mike Pence, his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, “or anyone communicating on their behalf on January 6”.
Among officials whose communications are at issue are the former acting defense secretary Chris Miller; former army secretary Ryan McCarthy; Kash Patel, who was Miller’s chief of staff; Paul Ney, formerly Pentagon general counsel; and James E McPherson, formerly general counsel of the army.
The Pentagon’s sluggish response to the Capitol attack remains the subject of widespread speculation and investigation.
As the New York Times put it last month, “the mobilisation and deployment of national guard troops from an armory just two miles away from the Capitol was hung up by confusion, communications breakdowns and concern over the wisdom of dispatching armed soldiers to quell the riot”.
Messages between senior DoD officials and the White House could shed light on what happened.
Watchdog group calls on Merrick Garland asked to investigate deleted phone messages from senior Trump officials
www.theguardian.com