The mystery of the seven-hour difference has fueled furious speculation about why the calls are missing. This includes allegations that Trump used “burning phones” (which he has denied) or that the records were intentionally destroyed.
But the gap may have a less mysterious explanation.
According to many sources familiar with Trump’s telephone behavior and the White House distribution chart, the Jan. 6 log reflects Trump’s typical telephone habits. He made calls mainly through the distribution panel when he was at home, but rarely used it when he was at the Oval Office. The fact that the log file does not show calls on January 6, 2021 from the Oval Office is not uncommon, sources said, because Trump usually had his staff either make direct calls to him directly from landlines or cell phones. These calls would not be recorded in the distribution board log.
The six pages of the White House logs for January 6, 2021 are based entirely on an official review of the White House records, according to a source familiar with the matter. There is no shortage of pages and the seven-hour gap is probably explained by the use of White House landline phones, White House cell phones and personal cell phones that do not pass through the switchboard.
Missing calls also highlight something more endemic: a president’s imperfect and outdated communications monitoring system.
The White House call log is created by a distribution panel system dating back to the 1960s, according to the National Archives. The version installed in 1963 was already considered “somewhat outdated” just two decades later.
And it is certainly not appropriate for the age of cell phones and text messages or for a President known for his efforts to bypass official channels of communication.
Skip the call log
There can be several reasons for the gap in the call log itself.
One possibility is that Trump was talking to people on a cell phone. As CNN has reported in the past, Trump used to use his and other people’s phones to make or receive calls.
Another explanation could be that Trump hired assistants to make direct calls from the Oval Office, bypassing the distribution board.
A former White House official who served in the Obama administration told CNN that if then-President Barack Obama wanted to call someone from the Oval Office, he would normally ask an assistant sitting nearby to call the person. The assistant then dialed the number and pressed transfer to connect the caller to the Chair.
That call would not go through the White House distribution board and therefore would not be recorded in the White House distribution board log, the former official said.
Another factor seems to be where Trump was when he made some calls. All of the calls made in the Jan. 6 calendar indicate that they were made from the White House residence, suggesting that Trump relied on the distribution board to make those calls. Missing calls seem to start when the diary notes that Trump has moved from his home to the Oval Office.
According to many sources, Trump used the distribution board more often when he was in his private home. But when he was in the Oval Office, the former president often directed assistants sitting outside his office to call some of his lawmakers or allies.
Two former Trump officials believe that this, as well as the chaotic nature of the West Wing on January 6, is what led to the gaps in the call logs.
Calls should also be documented in the Presidential Diary, which is compiled in detail by a White House Archives official. Although it is supposed to include “spontaneous moments, such as staff members’ visits and phone calls”, the diary account is as good as the information it receives from the President’s staff.
The former Obama official also acknowledged that this process was more of a price system and depended on how meticulous the assistants who served in other governments were or what instructions they were given.
No explanation has been given so far why the calls that are known to have been made during Trump’s time in the Oval Office are not documented in the presidential calendar.
Chaotic record keeping
Many sources have described the record-keeping during the Trump administration as generally chaotic. These sources, as well as witnesses who have testified in previous congressional inquiries into the former president’s behavior, described Trump as deeply suspicious of the White House distribution board and described various ways in which he tried to avoid keeping records of certain phone calls.
A 2020 Senate intelligence report includes testimonies from former aides who say Trump regularly used his husband Keith Schiller’s cell phone to call Republican Agent Roger Stone because he did not want his advisers to know they were talking.
“Trump hated people who knew who he was talking to, even from home at night as they walked past the billboard,” a former Trump official told CNN.
When John Kelly was Trump’s chief of staff, he would watch the scoreboard to see who Trump was talking to. Trump often told people to hang up the phone and call him back on his cell phone if he did not want to appear in the panel’s call log.
When Mark Meadows took over as chief of staff, sources said he had reduced the number of White House officials who had access to call logs, limiting the team to a small number of top assistants.
Fill in the blanks
Despite the gap in the call logs, the House selection committee relies on witness statements, additional documents and phone records received by summons to begin reuniting who Trump spoke that day.
This is especially true of the missed call to Pence. This call is a key point in the House argument that Trump was involved in criminal activity, as he constantly pressured Pence to prevent Congress from certifying the election. Trump has not been charged with any crime.
Pence’s former national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, described the call in his testimony before the commission earlier this year, telling investigators that he and other top aides were in the Oval Office with Trump when it took place. He said he could only hear what Trump said and not Pence’s answers.
The resumption of the conversation by Kellogg referred to the commission’s letter in late January to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, requesting that she also appear before the commission and cooperate in the investigation.
“As January 6 approached, President Trump repeatedly tried to persuade Vice President Pence to take part in his plan. One of the president’s conversations with the vice president took place over the phone on the morning of January 6,” the letter said.
“You were present at the Oval Office and you observed at least one aspect of this telephone conversation. General Keith Kellogg was also present at the Oval Office during this call and testified about this discussion,” he added.
CNN reported last month that Ivanka Trump was in talks to appear before the commission voluntarily for an interview. Others who attended the call have already testified.
Committee members said the testimony of witnesses was not the only way they could fill some of the gaps in official records, such as the White House calendars and the daily diary.
“Whether it is a witness who is unwilling to work with us or there are gaps in the documentation we have received, we will receive this information in a different way,” Stephanie Murphy, a spokeswoman for CNN + ‘s Kasie Hunt, told The Source on Wednesday. “These conversations were not one-way conversations. There was someone on the other side of these conversations and so we will get the information.”
“We are basically triangulating from many different angles and we have a complete picture of what happened before and on the day of January 6,” Murphy added.
Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, chairman of the selection committee, told CNN on Wednesday that the committee had not received any telephone records of the vice president from the National Archives.
Earlier this month, however, Thompson told CNN that the commission had “begun receiving” vice president files, without specifying which ones. Archives has handed over a portion of the vice president’s files, as well as documents recording calls to the vice president that were White House records.
A call is recorded in the presidential calendar even though it is not in the call log that day.
A document received by Parliament is the President’s private program and shows handwritten notes appearing to record telephone calls with Senator Kelly Loeffler from 11:17 a.m. to 11:20 p.m. and with “VPOTUS” at 11:20 a.m. on January 6th. , 2021.
The presidential diary handed to the commission shows that Trump made a “phone call to unknown individuals” at 11:17 a.m. on Jan. 6, but made no reference to the call at 11:20 a.m. No conversations are reflected in the White House call log.
This story has been updated with additional references.
CNN’s Ryan Nobles, Kaitlan Collins and Tara Subramaniam contributed to this report
