As you’ve probably seen by now, White House call logs the National Archives turned over to the House Jan. 6 Committee have a seven-hour gap that don’t include any calls then-President Donald Trump made or received from 11:17 a.m. to 6:54 p.m. on Jan. 6, according to the Washington Post and CBS News, which obtained the records. That wide gap runs contrary to reports of multiple calls that Trump took as the Capitol insurrection was unfolding — key conversations between Trump and his allies that have helped shape the scope of the Jan. 6 committee’s probe.
Here are the calls Trump made or fielded during that crucial window that we know of so far, according to news reports and/or people involved in the calls:
Mike Pence
The official records don’t include Trump’s final call with then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, during which the President made one last attempt to pressure Pence to illegally hijack Congress’ election certification process, according to then-Pence adviser Gen. Keith Kellogg, who testified about the conversation to the House Jan. 6 panel. The Washington Post has also reported on the call, and Bob Woodward and Robert Costa surfaced it in their book “Peril.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Trump had an explosive call with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the middle of the attack, as confirmed by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), who has said McCarthy briefed her on the call. That was the conversation in which Trump, responding to the GOP leader sounding the alarm of the violence unfolding in the Capitol, infamously remarked, “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” according to Beutler.
Sens. Mike Lee/Tommy Tuberville
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) told the Salt Lake Tribune that he got a call from Trump “moments after” the Capitol Police halted the Senate proceedings as the mob breached the building. The caller ID “indicated that the call was coming from the White House,” Lee said, but he didn’t know it was Trump until he picked up. According to Lee, the then-president had apparently misdialed and meant to reach Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), so Lee handed his phone over to the Alabama senator.
In wake of the attack, Tuberville revealed that he told Trump in that call amid the chaos that Pence was being evacuated.
Rep. Jim Jordan
The official call logs include one 10-minute call between Trump and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) starting at 9:24 a.m. on Jan. 6. However, Jordan himself has admitted he had more than one call with Trump that day, and that at least one took place during the attack.
Rep. Matt Gaetz
Politico reported that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) participated in one of Jordan’s calls to Trump, during which they urged the President to call off his supporters as they were storming the building. Jordan told Politico that he’d “have to think about it” when asked to confirm if Gaetz was present. Gaetz himself has refused to say if he was part of the call.
