House Democrats investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol have issued a scathing letter that accuses the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general of covering up the extent of missing text messages related to events on that day.
House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, who leads the House’s Jan. 6 and Homeland Security committees, accused Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari of reporting to Congress that texts were missing about 14 months after first learning the message were unavailable.
The Democratic lawmakers on Monday also said they have papers that reveal the inspector general’s office “secretly abandoned” efforts to obtain the messages over a year ago.