This week CBS News and The Washington Post disclosed that internal White House records dated January 6, 2021 more than the seven-hour gap between President Donald Trump’s phone calls. From 11:17 a.m. to 6:54 p.m., a time period that included an address by the President at a “Stop theft” rally outside the White House and a vicious attack. on US Capitol, minute by minute record of the president’s activities do not reflect any evidence of Trump makes or receives calls.
Fact is not here record of any activity between 13:21 and 16:03 when the violence on Capitol Hill has reached its peak. Trump was widely reported to have spoken with allies like Senators Mike Lee and Tommy Tuberville and with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during attack.
By law, the president and White House officials required “adequately document” and keep records of presidential “activities, discussions, decisions, and policies.” This duty has been established in Presidential Records Act of 1978
As a rule, calls and actions of the President during the day were recorded. in The President’s Daily Diary (PDD), a document compiled by the leading White House diaries who rely on diversity of sources.
The authors of the diaries are almost never eyewitnesses of presidential events, so their work is an association of telephone records provided by the White House switchboard operator, handwritten notes from close aides to the president, secret service logs, and a detailed secret version of president schedule.
White House diaries have the highest security clearance. They are paid by the National Archives, but they are considered impartial professional employees of the White House. who often work through Republican and Democratic presidencies.
people Mr Trump spoke with on January 6, 2021 and what they were discussing became key focus for members of bipartisan House Select Committee accused with investigation of the riot in the Capitol. Chairman Benny Thompson told CBS News on Tuesday that the committee had not received any additional records of the seven hours unaccounted for for. “We just We need to find them,” he said.
January 6 call log shows that Trump made several calls through the White House switchboard operators in in the morning – before attack on Capitol. He made more calls later in the evening.
But it’s not like that clear Why are there no records of Trump’s phone calls? on noon of January 6. If Trump used the White House switchboard to connect with face, call white house magazines operators would be sorted into secret and unclassified entries, which are given to the diary writers at the end of day, raising questions about full call the journals were received by the diary writers the same day in the afternoon.
Former White House officials told CBS News that the president regularly used his cell phone or took calls on mobile phones of his closest aides, like deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and personal assistant Nick Luna.
The moon appeared before panel for according to reports, interrogation earlier this month.
Trump possible use of non-government or helper phones – or even unregistered “standalone phones” – on January 6 prompted a committee to investigate whether Trump was indeed made or received several calls with intention of notation avoidance in in official presidential notes provided to the diaries, according to two people with knowledge of investigation.
former the president said in statement that he I have no idea what a “standalone phone” isbut John Bolton, who served Trump national security adviser, told CBS News that he and Trump talked about how people used “standalone phones” to avoid carefully check their calls.
On Monday, a House select committee recommended that Scavino be retained. in contempt of Congress for non-compliance with in panel subpoena. Scavino, longtime Trump aide social media assistant and confidant, refused to cooperate with committee, citing Trump’s statement of executive privilege.
BUT former Trump administration official described the record keeping process at the Trump White House. way: On most days if the President spoke with someone on but call is not routed through the White House switchboard, his executive assistant will make a handwritten note on his private schedule.
In the end of the day that annotated schedule, with any notes on additional activity, then to be transferred to White House staff secretary. The documents were then handed over to the White House Archival Office. official and turned from there over diary author add to traffic rules.
If there were additional presidential calls on noon of January 6th is not clear if they were lost in chain of records of possession – or if they have never been marked.
“To make sure you missed something”, former Trump White House official familiar with said the recording process, adding that sometimes handwritten notes were sent directly to the diary.
This official, like other respondents for this story asked for anonymity to be candid about his time in the Trump administration.
Other former official said “no way that these calls were “accurately tracked”, but can’t say if it was intentional. “It was messy.”
During final months of administration, Molly Michael served as an executive aide to Trump and sat on just outside Oval Office. Derek Lyons, staff secretary announced his intention to leave the White House by January 6th. official.
Neither Lyons nor Droege responded to inquiries for comment. Lawyer for Michael also did not respond to a request for comment. Axios reported that Michael was not at home. work for most of day on January 6.
Records of calls – either from the White House switchboard operators or handwritten notes by a Trump aide—at the end handed over to the White House diaries. of day, along with different information.
Under previous administrations, the only people with access to this documentation for diaries were the president, chief of staff, and secretary staff former This was reported to CBS News by the host of the White House diary. dont clear who has been given access in Trump White House.
former the diarist told CBS News that a PDD could be 30 pages or more, with records including who the president met or told where he was and who was still present. “Literally every minute counted. for” former the diary said. The details “were excruciatingly painful.”
Trump’s January 6 PDD appears to be just five pages based on what was given to the National Archives and then to the committee on 6 January.
In addition to the absence of documentation of any calls in noon of January 6, PDD – usually compiled and finalized by the authors of the diary. over in next several days – does not reflect who Trump was with in afternoon.
After the president returned from a speech at a rally held near the White House, the details in PDD is rare. The daily diary notes that Trump entered the Oval Office at 1:19 p.m. with his “valet” at 13:21, and then went to the Rose Garden two hours and after 42 minutes.
It is not clear whether one took Notes on who It was with Trump or were the records made but not flipped over for inclusion in diary.
Potentially complicating any attempt complete the diary of January 6 was handed over of power it will take place later that month, on January 20th.
Leading White House Diaries required make cross references and complete events of day, former The White House diarist explained, so if there is unknown spaces of time on President’s Day the diary’s writer is likely to look for for in information later so that the gaps can be filled in, a process that can take several days.
Even if the diary writers couldn’t get everything of in information necessary complete January 6 diary for President Biden’s inauguration on January 20 they would still be required present the diary in the form in which it with all Trump White House documents have been archived. former the writer of the diary said it would be difficult to imagine the script in no records exist because there are always several different organizations in the White House that simultaneously record what the president does during the day. former the author of the diary suggested that the purposeful suppression of records would likely require coordination with several organizations – “Secret Service with you, which means the White House operator must go with you. with you, that means Usher’s office gotta go together with you.”
CBS News contacted some of list of helpers and allies in diary who said with Trump before and after the seven-hour break in phone records.
He spoke with Senator David Perdue, a Republican. of Georgia, about the second round of elections in the Senate of Georgia, according to a source familiar with them call. Perdue had lost stock To Raphael Warnock the day before, on 5 January.
The president tried to reach Senator Josh Hawley, but they didn’t connect that day.
That evening he spoke with outside lawyers for Rudy Giuliani and Cleta Mitchell, both working to overturn the decision of elections 2020.
Robert Costa, Rob Leger and Adam Brewster contributed to this. story.
