According to two people familiar, the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 riot found a gap in records that runs from just after 11 a.m. until about 7 p.m. on that day. It also includes White House calls.
Trump did not comment on Tuesday. However, the attention to the gap coincides with a separate potential legal or political headache for Trump — the earlier this year recovery of 15 boxes, which included records containing classified data from Trump’s White House tenure from his Mar-a-Lago vacation house in Florida.
Here’s a look at the law regarding presidential records.
WHAT IS THE PRESIDENTIAL REPORTS ACT?
1978 law required that White House documents be kept as U.S. government property.
This law was made in the wake of Watergate, which saw Nixon’s secret tapes play a crucial role. These tapes showed that Nixon attempted to cover up the burglary at the headquarters of Democratic National Committee. He chose to resign than risk being impeached and removed from office.
WHAT CAN THAT MEAN?
Lindsay Chervinsky, presidential historian, stated that the law would, in theory, require the preservation email, text message, and phone records – regardless of the device used to communicate.
Problem is, there is no mechanism to enforce the law. This depends on the goodwill of the president and his staff to keep their records clean.
Chervinsky stated that it does require some good faith and a sort of honor system. When that fails, you can see the limits.”
The Jan. 6 committee will continue to investigate the gap. It will also try to piece together Trump’s communications prior to and during the insurrection when pro-Trump rioters stormed Congress to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
House investigators are investigating whether Trump communicated during this time via other means such as personal cellphones or other types of communication, such as an aide’s phone.
HAS TRUMP EVER ACCUSED PREVIOUS ATTENTION TO HIS RECORD KEEPING?
Yes, in a word. The revelation that Trump had brought boxes of classified material with him to Mar-a-Lago prompted the House to open an investigation. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, the Justice Department was asked to investigate the matter.
When asked about the matter, Attorney General Merrick Grland stated that the Justice Department would do the same thing it does every day — assess the facts and the laws “and take it from here.”
