Tuesday 2 August 2022 10:24 PM Pentagon WIPED the phones of top Trump defense officials after January 6 trends now Pentagon WIPED the phones of top Trump defense officials and removed all text messages when they left the administration days after January 6 American Oversight sought information in FOIA suit days after Jan. 6th Wants information on former Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, former top official Kash Patel, and former Army Sec. Ryan McCarthy DOD said in filing phones were wiped when officials left the administration Comes amid clash over efforts to get Secret Service information from Jan. 6th IG for DHS says data was lost during data migration It began days after the Jan. 6 committee told DHS to preserve records By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor For Dailymail.com Published: 22:17 BST, 2 August 2022 | Updated: 22:23 BST, 2 August 2022 Viewcomments The ongoing probe into wiped Secret Service emails from around Jan 6 took a new turn Tuesday, when it was revealed that the Defense Department wiped the phones of top Pentagon officials when they left the Trump administration. Among the officials who had their information wiped are former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, who assumed leadership after Trump fired Pentagon boss Mark Esper in Nov. 2020. The texts, had they been preserved, could provide additional information about Jan. 6th, as well who reached out and when about whether to send National Guard forces to quell the riot. The panel, as part of its wide-ranging probe, has examined such issues as what preparations were undertaken by the National Guard, which US officials did and did not phone seeking to deploy Defense Department assets, and contacts over use of the 25th Amendment to remove former President Donald Trump from office. American Oversight sought the data from top Defense Department officials seeking communications for Jan. 6th. The Pentagon said the cell data was wiped after the officials left government The admission came in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by American Oversight, which sued to obtain communications of officials who had contacts with former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 6. Meadows turned over digital to the committee before he started resisting a subpoena and claiming privilege. The text messages belonging to the officials 'were not preserved and therefore could not be searched,' DOD told the court. It stated in the filing that 'when an employee separates from DOD or Army he or she turns in the government issued phone, and the phone is wiped.' Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, is followed by reporters as he departs from a deposition meeting on Capitol Hill with the House select committee investigating the January 6th attack, on December 09, 2021 in Washington, DC. He said he cooperated with the committee Watchdog group sought the data of former Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, who would have knowledge of information about the use of National Guard on Jan. 6th American Oversight filed its suit just days after the Capitol riot, before the House created its own select committee to probe January 6th -- setting off a series of clashes for documents with individuals and agencies. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Jan. 6th chair Rep. Bennie Thompson have blasted the IG for the Homeland Security Department over missing data that the agency attributed to a data conversion, also undertaken just weeks after the new administration came in. The panel is probing claims by witness former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson that Trump had a confrontation with Secret Service agents who wouldn't let him go to the Capitol Jan. 6. 'We are writing with grave new concerns over your lack of transparency and independence, which appear to be jeopardizing the integrity of a crucial investigation run by your office,' the lawmakers wrote Inspector General Joseph Cuffari. The group sought communications by Miller, former Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Miller's former chief of staff Kash Patel, and other officials. All are considered critical witnesses. The group asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an probe into DOD's failure to preserve electronic communications. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility