In an interview with Newsweek, one of the founders of the University College London's Centre on U.S. Politics claimed that revelations that a member of the Oath Keepers was communicating with a Secret Service agent opens up a whole new avenue to be scrutinized into the investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Earlier in the week, a member of the rightwing paramilitary group stated in court that Stewart Rhodes, founder of the organization, boasted that he was in contact with someone in the Secret Service, and then added that he heard Rhodes speaking to someone he believes was -- or is still -- a member of the agency.
According to John Zimmerman, Newsweek's Darragh Roche reports, the "alleged conversation took place in September 2020 in the form of a call before a Trump rally in North Carolina. The Secret Service told NBC News in an article published on Thursday that members of the Oath Keepers had sometimes contacted the agency in relation to events where there is a Secret Service protectee."
Despite an agency spokesperson claiming, "it is not uncommon for various organizations to contact us concerning security restrictions and activities that are permissible in proximity to our protected sites," Thomas Gift claimed a thorough investigation is now called for in light of the Secret Service's difficulties turning over information to the House select committee investigating the riot incited by Donald Trump.
According to Gift, "The charge that Oath Keepers' Stewart Rhodes was in contact with the Secret Service in advance of January 6—although still an unproven allegation—raises exigent questions about who knew what and when about the militia group's violent intentions at the Capitol."
He added, "Yet there's still much we don't know about how extensively—and explicitly—groups like the Oath Keepers telegraphed their plans, including to law enforcement. To say the least, one of the burning questions that still lingers from the Capitol storming was how security could have been caught so off guard. Even if the answer turns out to be vapid communication failures, those deficiencies will need to identified and rectified."
The report notes that there have been questions about the Secret Service's actions on Jan. 6 since testimony before the House committee given by former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson.
Added Robert Singh, a professor at the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London, the committee, the trial of Rhodes is "likely to add pressure on the January 6 committee both to scrutinize the Secret Service more deeply and broadly, and to expedite its findings before January 2023—when a Republican majority, if it happens, could simply disband the committee."
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