The Seven Hour Gap in Trump Call Records, Part 1
Newly released details about missing White House Call Logs, during the attack on the US Capitol, now create shocking implications for many Republican leaders who have mostly flown under the radar.
A bombshell report from the Washington Post this morning has revealed that the January 6 Committee investigating the insurrection is missing critical portions of records from the Trump administration that may prove to be the key in tying Trump, his family, and his advisors directly to the plot to overthrow the electoral count.
The National Archives had previously turned over 11 pages of records, which included then-President Trump’s daily diary of activities as well as the official White House Call Log for all call activity. There is a clear gap in Trump’s Jan. 6 phone logs of seven hours and 37 minutes, where no details are given on his activities — this missing time includes the portion of time when the US Capitol Building was under siege by Trump supporters.
The lack of an official White House notation of any calls placed to or by Trump from 11:17 am to 6:54 pm leaves the committee with no factual record of Trump’s phone conversations as the insurrection began and continued for hours while the Vice President and many lawmakers had to hide or flee for their safety.
There are witness accounts that several Republicans spoke directly to Donald Trump during this missing time on the call logs. Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he was the first person to talk to Trump during the riot. Witnesses say McCarthy and Trump were screaming at each other as McCarthy asked the president to call off the rioters in an expletive-laced phone call. Witnesses also reported that Trump offered to send a tweet, and McCarthy said that wasn’t good enough.
"Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are," Trump said, according to lawmakers who were briefed on the call afterward by McCarthy. McCarthy insisted that the rioters were Trump's supporters and begged Trump to call them off. A furious McCarthy told the then-President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and asked Trump, "Who the f--k do you think you are talking to?" according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the call.
The missing records now make an unprecedented case for the House Jan. 6 Committee to subpoena Leader McCarthy and everyone else they have reason to believe spoke with Trump during the call log blackout. This means many more Republican leaders could be subpoenaed, including former Vice President Mike Pence. Stay tuned this week to SHERO as we will be synthesizing what has already been properly confirmed and drawing the legal implications of these new details.
The following is a re-post of a previous SHERO article from January 27, 2021, just a few weeks after the attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters and it notes many key figures who were involved in a secretive planning session the night before the attack on the US Capitol.
On January 5, 2021, the night before the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol Building, an elite meeting supposedly took place at the private residence of the president at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, just blocks away from the White House.
It was all relayed on the social media account of Charles W. Herbster, a wealthy ranch owner from Falls City, Nebraska, who once ran a failed campaign for governor of the state in 2013, and has just filed paperwork to run again in 2022. Herbster, a long-time fixture in midwestern conservative politics, also served as Trump’s National Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee at the time of the post.
Herbster documented the clandestine affair that night in a Facebook post, which was first reported by Seth Abramson, and provided an exact list of attendees, as if he were detailing a twisted version of another American Revolution. Charles Herbster listed a group of insiders that could easily be considered the crème de la crème of Trump collaborators — now possibly accomplices:
“Right now, I stand in the private residence of the President at Trump International with the following patriots who are joining me in a battle for justice and truth: U. S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, Alabama; Mr. Donald Trump, Jr.; Mr. Peter Navarro, Assistant to President Donald J. Trump, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, and the National Defense Production Act Policy Coordinator; Mr. Eric Trump; Mr. Adam Piper, Executive Director Republican Attorney General Association; Mr. David Bossie, President and Chairman of Citizens United and Deputy Campaign Manager of the 2016 Donald J. Trump Presidential Campaign; Mr. Corey Lewandowski, Manager of the 2016 Donald J. Trump Presidential Campaign; and General Michael Flynn, 25th United States National Security Advisor.”
If Herbster’s account is to be believed, several influential arms of the Republican Party were in the room that night, just hours before a series of events began to unfold in the Nation’s Capitol that could not have occurred without the understanding and assistance of many Trump insiders and high-up government officials. If Herbster’s post is accurate, a sitting United States Senator is involved in plotting, assisting, and enacting an attempted coup.
Tommy Tuberville won his US Senate election in Alabama only a few months ago, beating Democratic incumbent Doug Jones and delivering control of the very conservative state back into the hands of Republicans. Much like Trump, the former football coach-turned-celebrity politician has never held public office before, but was able to align himself with Trump and his faithful base to help him secure a landslide win. While campaigning in the primary election in Alabama, Tuberville declared, “God sent us Donald Trump.”
Cut to the day of the riots, and Congress reeling in chaos from the mob of insurgents who had just breached the US Capitol Building for the first time in American history. As many lawmakers quickly tried to assess what had occurred and gathered themselves from the fallout to continue counting the vote, a voice message was left by Trump loyalist and former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani was attempting to reach Senator Tommy Tuberville’s new office — and believed he had — so he proceeded to leave a detailed message for Tuberville. Giuliani, just after the conclusion of the riots, and after Congress announced their intent to move forward, mistakenly ended up leaving a voice mail message for Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), thinking he had reached Tuberville. The voice mail recording was soon leaked publicly. (Listen to audio embedded in tweet below.)
Giuliani explained to Tuberville in the recording, that the votes still had to be challenged moving forward once Congress returned to session later that night, despite the attack on the Capitol just hours before. Giuliani also gave the impression that Trump was counting on Tuberville to help him, and explained that the counting of the votes needed to be postponed. Giuliani explained in his message, “I want to discuss with you how they’re trying to rush this hearing and how we need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you.”
Now, a Facebook post from Charles Herbster lists all of the attendees at the Trump Hotel huddle the night before the insurrection, and Tommy Tuberville is at the actual top of that list. Yesterday, Senator Tuberville’s spokeswoman made a point to specifically deny the Herbster claim and told APR that Tuberville did not attend a Jan. 5 meeting at the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
Herbster, who says he attended the Jan. 6 rally, but then left before the riot, according to the Omaha World-Herald, further described the meeting at the Trump Hotel the night before. “They discussed how to pressure more members of Congress to object to the Electoral College results that made Joe Biden the winner,” The Omaha World-Herald reported.
Another prominent name on the list is former Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) Director Adam Piper. Due to the subsequent fallout following the attack on the US Capitol, which included the immediate condemnation of the event by more than a dozen Republican attorneys general, including the association’s chairman and vice-chairman, Piper quickly resigned his post.
Piper also told APR on Jan. 7, that neither RAGA nor the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF) was involved with the planning of the rally and implied it was due to staff error: “No Republican AG authorized the staff’s decision to amplify a colleague speaking at the rally.
The Republican Attorneys General Association also was instrumental in assisting Trump during the election by using the RAGA policy arm, called the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF), led by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, to authorize robocall messages urging “patriots” to join Trump’s march to “fight to protect the integrity of our elections.” The RDLF was also listed as a participating organization for the Jan. 6 “March to Save America” on the march’s website, which has since been taken down, but has been archived.
“I’m calling for the Rule of Law Defense Fund with an important message. The march to save America is tomorrow in Washington DC at the Ellipse in President’s Park between E Street and Constitution Avenue on the south side of the White House, with doors opening at 7:00 am At 1:00 pm, we will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal. We are hoping patriots like you will join us to continue to fight to protect the integrity of our elections. For more information, visit MarchtoSaveAmerica.com. This call is paid for and authorized by the Rule of Law Defense Fund, 202-796-5838.” — transcript of the robocall made by the Rule of Law Defense Fund (listen to it here)
The attempts by RLDF leaders to deny any association with the march or with Piper continue, despite the glaring evidence to the contrary. Piper has issued a statement that tries to provide distance for the RAGA, and those associated with the prominent legal group have, in turn, made no specific mention of why Piper has resigned from what he once referred to as his “dream job.”
Regardless of how the connections are spun after the fact, that Trump rally and march event was the catalyst — and some argue — the staging area for what would eventually take place: the assault on the heart of the American government. This list, provided by Herbster, spells out the names and titles of each individual who needs to be investigated for his role in inciting a coup at the US Capitol. What happened following the revolt is also critical information, and anyone in the Trump Hotel suite that night, that may have continued to assist, or cover up Trump’s insurrection, must also be examined.
“For me, the white signifies purity and innocence; red, hardiness and valor; and the blue, especially today, signifies perseverance and justice,” Herbster wrote in his euphoric post, that appears to be morphing into a confession letter before our very eyes. “I’ve dedicated my life to promoting and preserving the American Dream,” Herbster continued, “Tonight, as I look at our nation’s flag, I’m reminded of the battles and blood spilled to protect our way of life.”
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and hosts the live SHERO podcast on Callin. She is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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Justice Potter once said he may not be able to define obscenity but knows it when he sees it’s… this is obscene!
I have no words!!
But I am scared for what is to come, with mid-terms and 2024. This take-over will be tried again.