Former President Donald Trump insists that he wants texts from Secret Service agents “far more” than the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump wrote, “I want the Secret Service tapes far more than the Unselect Committee of political Hacks and Thugs in that ridiculous and libelous story of me supposedly choking a big and strong Secret Service Agent around the neck while in the Beast (wrong car!) would be shown to be, as the Secret Service has already confirmed, Fake (and Fraudulent!).”
“Likewise, there was no throwing of food, and I did not want to be surrounded by strangers ‘with guns’ during my ‘Peacefully [and] Patriotically’ speech. Fake News!” he added.
Trump’s comments refer to the Secret Service’s disclosure that many of its agents’ texts were permanently deleted in Jan. 2021 as part of its effort to reset staff cellphones.
According to The Washington Post, the agency has concluded that it cannot recover the deleted texts, and cannot share texts other than what it already provided to the Jan. 6 committee.
The Post explained, “The result is that potentially valuable evidence — the real-time communications and reactions of agents who interacted directly with Trump or helped coordinate his plans before and during Jan. 6 — is unlikely to ever be recovered, two people familiar with the Secret Service communications system said.”
“The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion into the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters issued a subpoena to the U.S. Secret Service on Friday requesting phone, after-action reports, and other records relating to that time,” it added.
In June, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that she was told a dramatic story about an alleged altercation in the presidential vehicle on Jan. 6.
“[Trump] thought that they were going up to the Capitol. And when [Secret Service Special Agent Bobby Engel] had relayed to him, we’re not, we don’t have the assets to do it, it’s not secure. We’re going back to the West Wing. The president had a very strong, very angry response to that,” Hutchinson testified.
She continued, “[White House aide Tony Ornato] described him as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the f*****g president! Take me up to the Capitol now.’”
She added:
“The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, ‘Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. We’re going back to the West Wing. We’re not going to the Capitol.’ Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel and when Mr. Ornato had recounted the story to me, he had motioned towards his clavicles.”
In case you missed it:
"I'm the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now," Trump told the Secret Service as his supporters marched there on Jan. 6.
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) June 28, 2022
When they refused, an "irate" Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limo #January6thHearings https://t.co/T4231hMn8G pic.twitter.com/mNtB0vvVu8
Trump has previously denied the story and called Hutchinson a “phony.”
Additionally, it was reported that Secret Service agents were prepared to testify that the altercation did not occur.
