# Secret Service deleted texts around January 6 as part of a "device-replacement" program **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 15, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977 "2022-07-15T00:17:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/1 "2022-07-15T00:17:30Z")
“But her emails!” > **[Secret Service deleted texts from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, after watchdog sought...](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-jan-6-2021-after-watchdog-sought-records/ar-AAZAAFK?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=0565a1d3fb7d4602836264656f1508c6)** > > An internal watchdog said Wednesday that the Secret Service deleted text messages from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, after the records were requested. What did they delete, and why? ---
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/2 "2022-07-15T01:29:11Z")
In a just world heads would roll for this. In the US now, no chance ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/3 "2022-07-15T01:53:32Z")
It probably had something to do with Trump getting into a shouting match with the Secret Service because they refused to drive him to the Capitol to meet the protestors on January 6. > [@](#): > > On Thursday, The Intercept reported that the Secret Service deleted text messages from January 5 and January 6 that could have shed light on the alleged incident. > **[DC police officer confirms Trump had 'heated exchange' with Secret Service...](https://www.businessinsider.com/dc-police-officer-confirms-trump-fought-with-secret-service-cnn-2022-7)** > > A source told CNN that a police officer in Washington, DC, he witnessed a heated exchange between Trump and his Secret Service team. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/4 "2022-07-15T02:22:06Z")
There’s always a trail, right? Can they get the text messages from the phone company? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/5 "2022-07-15T02:31:37Z")
Coup plotting ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/6 "2022-07-15T03:03:04Z")
> [@Turki-lurki](#): > > In the IS now, no chance “IS”?? But no. It would be training, counseling and maybe even a written warning and two weeks off. ---
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/7 "2022-07-15T03:05:24Z")
Typo. ‘US’. I missed the edit interval - hope Kindly Mod will fix it… ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/8 "2022-07-15T03:10:56Z")
Done as requested. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/9 "2022-07-15T03:12:10Z")
The ‘device replacement’ excuse is not credible. All major corporations have data retention rules and programs in place. Even if I were to chuck my work device, any texts sent in the last year are easily retrievable and any from a period before that (I forget the length - 5 or 7 years) can be recovered from archive. Somebody in DHS should be in major trouble if this isn’t the case, but we’ll see if anything actually comes of it. Federal records retention isn’t something where compliance is casually handled. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/10 "2022-07-15T03:51:36Z")
It would also be truly bizarre to delete January 5 and 6 but not the 4th, to follow some data retention rule. (Mind you, it’s not clear that that happened, but that seems to be the implication.) Swiss cheese retention is not a standard that anyone would ever have. You might keep data from certain important dates, but not delete certain dates. The interesting question, I guess, will be whether the Secret Service were competent enough to delete completely, or if these are the usual “specially Trump chosen”? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/11 "2022-07-15T12:22:25Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > The ‘device replacement’ excuse is not credible. All major corporations have data retention rules and programs in place. Man - as a longtime federal employee, we get annual reminders that emails and texts are official government records which have to be retained - IIRC generally for 7 years. And I also believe there are criminal penalties for violating those policies. And I’d like to hear how they were able to delete the such that they are unrecoverable. From my perspective as a very small fish, you just don’t mess with this sorta thing. Of course, the Hatch Act applies to little fish moreso than big ones as well… 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/12 "2022-07-15T13:11:18Z")
This is a coverup just as much as the claim that Rose Mary Woods accidentally erased 18 1/2 minutes of the Nixon tapes. Awfully funny how only those two dates were erased and they happen to have the most incriminating information. Secret Service needs a complete overhaul and perhaps every single agent needs to be replaced as well as those in command. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/13 "2022-07-15T13:55:39Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > It probably had something to do with Trump getting into a shouting match with the Secret Service because they refused to drive him to the Capitol to meet the protestors on January 6. That was my thought as well, but it could have been more benign, like some agents texting that the president had requested transport to the Capitol, followed by a text calling off the movement because of logistical or security concerns. But even texts confirming the observed dangers in the crowd are impactful, as they confirm (yet again) that this was known to be a violent mob before Trump addressed them. What confuses me is how it would be effective to just delete the texts. The phone company has that data. I’m sure of it - I once worked a criminal fraud case, and we were given data from a search warrant that showed the defendant’s Google searches - things like “Is it illegal to use a fake name?” We were also privy to all of his porn searches. I’ve seen similar with text messages in armed robbery cases, where law enforcement is trying to prove up a conspiracy. They don’t go to the phone to get the information- they go to AT&T, or Sprint, or Verizon, or whoever. Does the secret service use its own private phone carrier? ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/14 "2022-07-15T14:01:00Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Does the secret service use its own private phone carrier? I was wondering the same thing, and my guess is yes. I wouldn’t trust texts about the POTUS’s whereabouts and travel plans to be secure with Verizon or AT&T. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/15 "2022-07-15T14:10:05Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I was wondering the same thing, and my guess is yes. How is that even logistically possible? They wouldn’t exactly have their own towers. I’d expect they’d use some encryption, but still need to rely on a traditional carrier. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/16 "2022-07-15T14:10:27Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I was wondering the same thing, and my guess is yes. I wouldn’t trust texts about the POTUS’s whereabouts and travel plans to be secure with Verizon or AT&T. There’s a decent chance that they’re using a commercial service so as to have extensive coverage, but the texts themselves were encrypted by their texting system prior to being sent. The company would have the texts, but they’d be unreadable without the decryption system. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/17 "2022-07-15T14:11:53Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > The company would have the texts, but they’d be unreadable without the decryption system. Which means the texts are accessible! (What? Did they delete the entire encryption system as part of some sort of data clearinghouse, too?) ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/18 "2022-07-15T14:12:19Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > > [@Akaj](#): > > > > I was wondering the same thing, and my guess is yes. > > How is that even logistically possible? They wouldn’t exactly have their own towers. I’d expect they’d use some encryption, but still need to rely on a traditional carrier. > [@Horatius](#): > > There’s a decent chance that they’re using a commercial service so as to have extensive coverage, but the texts themselves were encrypted by their texting system prior to being sent. The company would have the texts, but they’d be unreadable without the decryption system. Hey, I did say “guess.” 😀 You’re both probably right. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/19 "2022-07-15T14:12:50Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > (What? Did they delete the entire encryption system as part of some sort of data clearinghouse, too?) Given the “Dog ate my homework” level of competency we’re seeing here, I’m guessing, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977/20 "2022-07-15T14:26:48Z")
Well, the dog didn’t exactly **eat** my homework. He just licked all the ink off the page. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-deleted-texts-around-january-6-as-part-of-a-device-replacement-program/967977.md?page=2)