White House phone logs turned over to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot show an unexplained seven-hour gap, according to a bombshell report out Tuesday morning.
Records obtained by Bob Woodward of The Washington Post and Robert Costa of CBS News show a gap in Donald Trump’s phone records from 11:17 a.m. to 6:54 p.m.—the period when thousands of his supporters were invading the Capitol in a violent bid to prevent a joint session of Congress certifying Joe Biden’s election victory.
In a joint report published by the Post, Woodward and Costa note the Jan. 6 committee was handed 11 pages of records by the National Archives that included call logs from the White House switchboard—but with a 457-minute gap.
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“The House panel is now investigating whether Trump communicated that day through backchannels, phones of aides, or personal disposable phones, known as ‘burner phones,’’” they wrote, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the probe. Alternatively, the committee is investigating whether it had actually received the complete logs.
Trump himself told the newspaper in a statement on Monday night: “I have no idea what a burner phone is, to the best of my knowledge I have never even heard the term.”
One lawmaker on the House panel said it was investigating a “possible coverup” of the White House record.
The logs do show that Trump was active on the phone that day, calling at least eight people in the morning and an additional 11 in the evening, the Post reported. Among those he spoke to were his former adviser Steve Bannon, personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and then-Vice President Mike Pence—who was forced to flee with his family in the face of death threats from the mob.
But news reports referring to phone conversations Trump had during the riot, including with Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), clashed with the logs, confirming a gap in the records Trump’s White House turned over.
News of the gap in Trump’s official call log comes the day after a federal judge ruled the former president had “more likely than not” committed a felony when he attempted to obstruct Congress and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
U.S. District Court Judge David Carter made the extraordinary statement as he handed down an order requiring John Eastman, a Trump attorney and ally, to turn over 101 emails to the Jan. 6 Committee.
“Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” Carter wrote, adding, “The illegality of the plan was obvious.”
Carter also said Trump “knowingly tried to subvert” the peaceful transition of power, a “fundamental principle” of the nation. Neither Trump nor Eastman have been charged with a crime.
The 11 pages of notes obtained by the Post and CBS News included five pages with the header “THE DAILY DIARY OF PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP” that outlined some of his activities that day—although not in much detail.
The diary notes Trump addressing supporters at a “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse at midday and his return to the White House at 1:19 p.m. before meeting "with his Valet" at 1:21 p.m.
The riot started shortly after 2 p.m. when as many as 2,500 Trump supporters, some of them armed, forced their way into the Capitol, but the next entry on the White House diary is not until 4:03 p.m., when Trump went to the Rose Garden to record a message for the mob.
In that video, posted on Twitter shortly afterward, Trump repeats the stolen election lie and asks the rioters to go home, adding: “We love you. You’re very special.”
