Secret Service says DHS inspector general probing Hutchinson's Jan. 6. claims

The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general is probing the claims made by former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson during her testimony to the Jan. 6 committee, the Secret Service said Thursday in a letter to Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.).

Republican Study Committee chairman Banks sent letters last week to the Secret Service and former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, asking that GOP investigators receive records that went to the House Jan. 6 panel.

The Secret Service responded to Banks with a letter, obtained by Just the News, explaining that the information is the subject of an ongoing review by Congress and the DHS inspector general.

"The Secret Service, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, continues to provide information in a timely manner in response to the Congressional committee and OIG requests with respect to those ongoing reviews. Further, it is our understanding that information from their associated reports will be available for your review once their investigations are completed," wrote Ronald Rowe Jr., the Secret Service assistant director for intergovernmental and legislative affairs.

Rowe told Banks that his agency "remains committed to working with Congressional committees to meet their oversight responsibilities and be responsive to requests for information."

In his July 7 letter, Banks wrote to Secret Service Director James Murray, who has since announced his retirement, that "Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi made the unprecedented decision to block two of Minority Leader [Kevin] McCarthy's appointments to the January 6 Select Committee, so it lacks minority representation. As a result, Republicans are conducting our own investigation into the security failure at the Capitol, and Republicans on the House Administration Committee have announced a forthcoming investigation into the January 6 Select Committee's conduct."

Banks specifically pressed on Hutchinson's accusation that then-President Donald Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limousine on Jan. 6 in an attempt to force the vehicle to the U.S. Capitol. Both the former president and Secret Service members have disputed the claim.