- The January 6 committee told a Secret Service watchdog to "step aside" on Monday.
- Lawmakers said Joseph Cuffari failed to notify Congress of deleted Secret Service texts.
- Recent reports said the DHS Inspector General's office knew about texts before telling Congress.
The House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol urged a Secret Service watchdog to stand down on Monday after reports suggested that it knew about deleted text messages long before notifying lawmakers.
In a letter sent by Reps Carolyn Maloney and Bennie Thompson to the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General Joseph Cuffari and reviewed by Insider, the lawmakers accused Cuffari of orchestrating an attempt to "cover up" the text messages and asked him to "step aside" from the investigation.
Maloney and Thompson wrote that the letter came after reports that Cuffari's office knew about the deleted text messages for months earlier than was previously revealed.
The letter said Cuffari, who was nominated to his post by former president Donald Trump, "failed to notify" Congress about the missing texts and "deliberately" chose not to pursue the evidence.
"Removing yourself from this investigation is even more urgent today," the letter said. "In addition, in light of the cascading revelations about your failure to conduct this investigation effectively and communicate truthfully with Congress, 9 our Committees need further information to determine the full scope of potential mismanagement and misconduct in your investigation and to identify further actions Congress may need to take."
The Inspector General's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The Secret Service submitted only one text message to the House January 6 committee investigating the insurrection after a subpoena was issued ordering communications from January 5 and 6.
Cuffari and the Secret Service clashed after it was revealed that Secret Service agents' text messages from those days were deleted. The agency said the texts were deleted as part of a pre-planned agency-wide phone reset and has denied that texts were deleted with malicious intent.
