White House records obtained by Jan. 6 panel show gap in Trump's phone calls on day of riot

Garrett Haake and Leigh Ann Caldwell and Rebecca Shabad
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON — White House records obtained by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol don't show any phone calls to or from then-President Donald Trump, including some the panel knows he made with Republican lawmakers, during the hourslong period after his speech on the Ellipse that day, a source familiar with the records told NBC News.

It was widely reported that during that time frame, for example, Trump spoke by phone with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who have publicly described their conversations with him. The gap in the call records, which was first reported by The New York Times, could be the result of Trump’s well-documented habit of using his or others' personal cellphones to communicate with his aides and associates; it is unclear whether it could also be the result of incomplete or altered White House records.

“It will be interesting to know if all of the president’s cellphone calls were logged,” the source said.

The Jan. 6 committee declined to comment to NBC News, and Trump’s spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

In January, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s effort to stop the National Archives and Records Administration from giving the committee hundreds of pages of documents from his time in the White House, clearing the way for the records agency to hand over the material. The National Archives could still have more documents to give to the committee, the source said.

The National Archives said this week that Trump had to return 15 boxes of documents that were improperly taken from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate. The agency has also asked the Justice Department to examine whether Trump's handling of White House records violated federal law, according to two administration officials.

Earlier this month, the records agency confirmed it had preserved some documents that were were ripped up by the former president and had to be taped back together by government officials.