WASHINGTON — Secret Service Director James Murray will delay his planned departure for a job in the private sector while the agency faces scrutiny over missing text message from the days surrounding last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Murray will stay on indefinitely “to guide the agency through these multiple inquiries” and ensure he leaves a “cohesive plan” for the next director, according to Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Murray announced his change in plans to his staff Thursday.
The Secret Service came under fire after it failed to turn over all texts sought by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters. Many of the texts were erased during an equipment upgrade, the service said.
The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is probing the missing texts. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is also looking into the matter.
Murray announced his retirement in early July, and was set to leave by the end of the month after accepting a job at Snap Inc., the company that runs Snapchat.
