House Select Committee investigators have found that there are significant gaps in White House call logs which have severely hindered efforts of trying to piece together the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot.
The missing documents include records of calls that former United States President Donald Trump made with Republican lawmakers during the riot. There were several reports on that day that the Republican businessman had phone calls with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
White House Call Logs
While the situation could be a result of Trump's well-documented habit of using his own or other people's personal mobiles to communicate with allies, it could also be because of incomplete or altered White House records. A source said that they wondered whether or not all of the former president's cell phone calls were logged properly.
Amid the investigation, the House Select Committee declined to comment and Trump's spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment. The Supreme Court in January rejected the former president's attempts to block the National Archives and Records Administration from handing over hundreds of White House records to the committee, as per NBC News.
Investigators for the committee are hoping to reconstruct more of Trump's communications during the Capitol riot by making use of additional records obtained from the National Archives. The panel has also subpoenaed records from telecommunications providers for some of the Republican businessman's closest confidantes, including Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump.
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Some of the calls that the former president had during the Capitol Hill siege were reported, including one he had with Utah Sen. Mike Lee as the large, angry mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. Many are criticizing Trump for evading the White House's call logging system as he has also been accused of destroying official documents.
The Independent reported that the National Archives previously turned over documents to the House Select Committee that were seemingly ripped apart and put back together using tape. Furthermore, the House Oversight Committee is now conducting an investigation of Trump called "potential serious violations" of federal record-keeping laws.
Irregular Practices
Trump is also believed to have taken more than a dozen boxes filled with presidential records from the White House when he left office. The National Archives believes that the documents include classified material.
The former president has continued to refuse to return the boxes of documents that he took from the White House. The National Archives has negotiated with Trump where the agency threatened to send a letter to Congress or the Department of Justice if the Republican businessman continued to withhold the records.
Furthermore, while Trump was in office, White House staff repeatedly discovered wads of printed paper clogging the toilets of the residence. The situation led them to believe that the former president flushed documents periodically. The Republican businessman's habits and irregular practices have made it significantly harder for officials to recreate the events that led to the unprecedented Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot and who exactly were involved, the New York Times reported.
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