The Defense Department joined the Secret Service and Homeland Security on a list of government agencies that destroyed material related to the January 6 insurrection. Court records show that the government-issued phones of acting defense secretary Christopher Miller and Army Secretary Ryan McCathy were wiped clean when they left the government. Those officials were in charge of mobilizing the National Guard to protect the Capitol. (The Washington Post, August 2, 2022, by Karoun Demirjian and Jacqueline Alemany with contributions from Dan Lamothe)
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin asked the military inspector general to find out how the records came to be destroyed. “I don’t know whether the failure to preserve these critical government texts is the result of bad faith, stunning incompetence, or outdated records management policies, but we must get to the bottom of it,” said Durbin. (Military Times, August 3, 2022, by Leo Shane III)
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks reminded Pentagon officials that preserving records under the Federal Records Act “is a solemn responsibility.” (The Hill, August 4, 2022, by Ellen Mitchell)