The Department of Defense (DOD) failed to retain text messages from a number of its top officials relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot because it wiped their phones during the transition, a watchdog group that sued for the records disclosed Tuesday.
American Oversight filed a public records request for the communications of former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and former Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy in the days after the attack on the Capitol.
But they were informed during litigation that the records were not preserved.
“DOD and Army conveyed to Plaintiff that when an employee separates from DOD or Army he or she turns in the government-issued phone, and the phone is wiped. For those custodians no longer with the agency, the text messages were not preserved and therefore could not be searched,” the agencies wrote in a March court filing.
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