The relationship between agents and protectees could be damaged.
He thinks the deleted text messages were not willful.
He was told by the Secret Service to use email.
The relationship between agents and the political leaders they protect could be damaged by the intense scrutiny of the Secret Service.
Donald Mihalek, a retired senior Secret Service agent, told Insider that the secret service has to be able to work with these people. When the Secret Service is put in a position where it seems like the protection relationship is being questioned, the country needs to ask itself, what is the damage being done?
Mihalek began his career as a special agent. 300 Secret Service personnel were trapped in Lower Manhattan during the 9/11 attacks and he was the on-scene commander of the maritime rescue operation.
Insider reached out to several other former agents to get their opinions on the deleted text messages.
The Secret Service's role in the January 6 attacks has come under intense scrutiny, especially after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's account of the day and now the deleted text messages. The inspector general accused the agency of deletion of text messages after being asked.
Mihalek thinks it was not willful. I don't think there is anything sinister going on.
Mihalek thinks that the American people deserve answers, but only after the agency has the ability to conduct an internal investigation. Mihalek thinks that the intense scrutiny of the Secret Service may affect agents' ability to perform their missions.
He said that nobody had asked that question. There is a lack of trust in the relationship between the president and the Secret Service.
The nation might not be able to bear the consequences of that gap.
Mihalek was promoted to senior special agent in 2015 and retired in 2019.
Mihalek said that there is a problem with the agency. Three weeks after the Capitol attack, the House January 6 Committee is concerned about a system migration that resulted in the deletion of Secret Service cell phone data.
When Mihalek was in the Secret Service, texting and calling were not considered to be secure ways of communication. When he was there, cell phones and text messages went through a third party.
He said that every government cell phone is a third party. If you are going to send anything operationally, do it over email.
Business Insider has an article on it.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
