US Capitol riot investigators find gaps in White House call logs: NYT

Police release tear gas as Trump supporters storm the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The US House committee probing the Jan 6, 2021 attack on Congress has found gaps in official White House telephone logs on the day of the deadly riot, with few records of calls by then president Donald Trump during the hours investigators know he was making them, the New York Times reported.

Investigators have not uncovered evidence that any official records were tampered with or deleted, the newspaper reported on Thursday (Feb 10), citing two people familiar with the phone records and noting Trump was known to use his personal cellphone or other people's cellphones.

The call log gaps may complicate House investigators' efforts to get a complete picture of the former Republican president's actions at the time his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

Still, the House panel has obtained information on calls and other communications as it interviews other witnesses.

In August, investigators told 35 telephone, email and social media companies to preserve any records that could be relevant to the probe.

Last month, the panel subpoenaed several social media firms, including Facebook parent Meta, Google parent Alphabet, Twitter and Reddit.

CNN last month also reported that the panel had subpoenaed and obtained records of phone numbers associated with Trump's son, Eric Trump, as well as Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is engaged to his other son, Donald Trump Jr.

Trump, in a statement released before the Times' report, again decried the panel and called the probe a political attack against him.

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