A watchdog agency knew in February about the Secret Service’s deletion of text messages sent around the time of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol but chose not to alert Congress, according to The Washington Post. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General also reportedly prepared in October 2021 to make a public alert about the Secret Service blocking requests for text messages and other records about the Jan. 6 insurrection, but ultimately chose not to do so. The inspector general’s failure to raise the alarm about the mass text purge may have hurt the chances of vital evidence relating to the Capitol attack being recovered, anonymous whistleblowers who spoke to the Post fear. It’s thought the lost messages may have provided critical information about former President Donald Trump’s plans and actions around the riot.