The mystery gap in Trump phone logs has many possible explanations

Washington
CNN
 — 

In the seven hours during which White House records show no phone calls to or from then-President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, among the calls that are conspicuously absent is one Trump made to then-Vice President Mike Pence that morning from the Oval Office.

While the call is not specifically noted in the presidential diary or the presidential call log, its existence has been corroborated by multiple sources who were with Trump and Pence that day, including former aides who testified before the House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack.

And it’s not the only call Trump is known to have made in that timeframe that is not reflected in the records.

The mystery of the seven-hour gap has fueled furious speculation as to why calls are missing. That includes allegations that Trump was using “burner phones” (which he has denied) or that the logs were purposely suppressed.

But the gap might have a less mysterious explanation.

According to multiple sources familiar with Trump’s phone behavior and the White House switchboard records, the January 6 log reflects Trump’s typical phone habits. He mainly placed calls through the switchboard when he was in the residence but rarely used it when he was in the Oval Office. The fact the log does not show calls on January 6, 2021, from the Oval Office is not unusual, said the sources, because Trump typically had staff either place calls directly for him on landlines or cell phones. Those calls would not be noted on the switchboard log.

The missing calls underscore something more endemic: the imperfect and antiquated system of tracking a president’s communications.

The White House call log is generated by a switchboard system that dates 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 The version installed in 1963 was already considered “somewhat outdated” just two decades later.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’s certainly not one suited for the era of cell phones and text messages or to a President well known for his efforts to circumvent official channels of communications.

There could be various reasons that explain the gap in the call log itself.

One possibility is that Trump was speaking to people from a cell phone. As CNN has previously reported, Trump had a habit of using his and other people’s phones to make or receive calls.

Another explanation could be that Trump had aides place direct calls from the Oval Office, bypassing the switchboard.

A former White House staffer who served in the Obama administration told CNN that if then-President Barrack Obama wanted to make a call to someone from the Oval Office, he would normally ask an aide seated nearby to dial the person. The aide would then call the number and hit transfer to connect the caller to the President.

That call would not go through the White House switchboard and therefore would not be recorded on the White House switchboard log, the…