Trump's Jan. 6 phone log, turned over to House committee, shows 7-hour gap: reports

Ella Lee, USA TODAY
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Records from Jan. 6, 2021, turned over to the House select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol show a gap of more than seven hours in former President Donald Trump's phone log that day, according to reports by CBS News and the Washington Post.

The gap spans seven hours and 37 minutes, from 11:17 a.m. to 6:54 p.m., which includes the period of time during which the Capitol was ambushed. Because there is no official White House notation of calls placed by or to Trump during that time, the committee has no record of the former president's calls during the attack, the reports say.

Earlier this year, the House committee received the records from the National Archives, , including the president's official daily diary and the White House switchboard call log. The existing logs document at least eight calls in the morning and 11 in the evening, according to the reports.

More: Jan. 6 panel finds gaps in Trump phone records from White House log during Capitol attack

The committee is reportedly investigating whether Trump communicated through backchannels throughout the day, using burner phones or phones of aides, given extensive reporting on conversations he had with key individuals during the undocumented time period.

Trump frequently used his personal cellphone, family members' and aides' phones to conduct official business while in office.

A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 aiming to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results. The efforts failed, and Joe Biden's victory was certified early Jan. 7. But the attack left more than 150 Capitol and Metropolitan police injured and at least seven people dead in connection with the day's events.

Liz Harrington, a spokesperson for Trump's office, told USA TODAY that the former president "had nothing to do with the records, and assumed any and all of his phone calls were recorded and preserved."

She also pointed to the statement Trump gave CBS News and the Washington Post Monday, where he asserted he has "no idea what a burner phone is."

USA TODAY requested comment from the Jan. 6 committee.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's Jan. 6 phone records given to panel have 7-hour gap: reports