The House committee investigating the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol says there was a gap in the official White House phone records of every call made by then-President Donald Trump the day of the attack when investigators know he made them.
The White House telephone log has gaps in its official records but investigators are uncertain if they were tampered with or deleted. The entries do not list phone calls made between Trump and lawmakers that have been reported in the press. It's known that Trump liked to use his personal cellphone and his aides to make calls in the past, which could account for the missing entries, CNN reported.
Two sources familiar with the phone records told CNN that the log contains little information and show no record of phone calls made on the day of the Capitol riot between the time Trump returned to the Oval Office following a speech to supporters around noon and when he made a video addressing the nation in the Rose Garden later that day.
Former Trump administration officials told the committee the investigators would have a hard time piecing together Trump's calls and activity due to him typically using other people's cellphones. At least one person who called Trump's cellphone the day of the riot had it picked up by an aide, but Trump's whereabouts were unknown, according to The New York Times.
As part of the investigation, the committee received hundreds of White House records even though Trump fought in the Supreme Court to keep them a secret. The committee requested the National Archives send documents of Trump's call logs and phone records from January 6 plus his top aides as well as his presidential diaries.
The committee knows Trump spoke to Vice President Mike Pence and other Republican lawmakers the morning of the Capitol riot. As the attack unfolded, Trump called Utah Senator Mike Lee when he meant to call Alabama Senator Tommy Turberville. Lee handed the phone to Turberville, who spoke to Trump for a short period of time.
The Alabama senator said during the phone call he told Trump they've "taken the vice president out," referencing the evacuation of Pence, and that "they want me to get off the phone," Newsweek previously reported.
Several calls the committee know Trump made did not appear on the official logs, the Times reported.
"Whether it is the absence of data or phone logs or willing testimony, inevitably, we have different sources to get that information because these are conversations that require more than one participant," committee member Representative Stephanie Murphy told CNN.
As of now, the committee has subpoenaed more than 100 peoples phone records. However, the committee has not requested Trump's personal cellphone records, but they may revisit that possibility, committee chair Bennie Thompson said.
While the committee apparently hasn't come up with a final consensus as to the reason for the gaps in Trump's call records, the sources told CNN thatit's possible the Archives could find additional records that explain the gap.
Update 02/10/22, 1:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information about the investigation into Trump's missing call logs.
Update 02/10/22, 1 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information about former President Donald Trump's call records.
