In July, the Secret Service took the cellphones of 24 agents who responded to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and turned them over to the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, two people with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
This took place around the time Inspector General Joseph Cuffari's office launched a criminal investigation into missing text messages sent by Secret Service agents on Jan. 6, and sent a letter to the agency, NBC News reports. It isn't clear whether the inspector general's office was able to obtain any information from the phones.
One person familiar with the matter told NBC News some of the agents were not happy that Secret Service leadership almost immediately confiscated their phones to comply with Cuffari's request. Read more at NBC News.