Two top House Democrats alleged Monday that there's evidence of a cover-up in the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general investigation into deleted U.S. Secret Service messages related to the Capitol riot. Why it matters: The letter highlights the tensions between the Trump-appointed Cuffari and House Democrats after news of the missing Secret Service text messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, emerged last month. The House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, which Thompson also chairs, has since subpoenaed the Secret Service, and Cuffari has launched a criminal investigation into the matter. "The Committees have obtained new evidence that your office may have secretly abandoned efforts to collect text messages from the Secret Service more than a year ago," they continued. Read the letter in full, via DocumentCloud:Go deeper: National Archives asks Secret Service to "look into" deleted textsEditor's note: This article has been updated with further details from the letter and more context.

Source: CNN August 02, 2022 06:22 UTC