Not just the phone log that has omissions

The White House diarist normally receives many streams of information, including the phone logs from the switchboard, the president's movements from the US Secret Service and, critically, the notes from Oval Office operations, which detail calls, guests and activities.

But sources close to the panel's investigation do not seem to know yet who, if anyone, directed a change in record-keeping or what the motivation behind that change was, raising questions about whether the lack of information was intentional or for staffing issues.

  CNN

I have an opinion on that:  Probably both.

These revelations come as the House select committee is trying to understand what Trump was doing (and not doing) during a seven-hour gap that exists in the White House call log and the presidential diary from January 6, 2021. The recently revealed switchboard call log and the presidential diary for the day contain no information about the then-President's actions during the riot, including phone calls that are known to have occurred and should have been documented in the diary.

[...]

CNN previously reported that a likely explanation for the gap in the phone log is that Trump used cell phones, direct landlines or aides' phones that bypassed the White House switchboard. An official review of the call logs found no missing pages.

While the select committee does not have detailed notes about the comings and goings into the Oval Office on January 6, they have received testimony that has helped fill in some of the gaps, according to a source familiar with the investigation. That includes calls Trump made and received, as well as who was with him in the private dining room off the Oval Office as he reportedly watched the riot unfold on television.

The presidential diary that was generated for January 6 contains scant details. It lists information from the switchboard call logs and Trump's public schedule but little else besides a phone call the former President had with an "unidentified individual" at 11:17 a.m. And there are no entries in the diary for roughly three hours, from 1:21 p.m. to 4:03 p.m.

[...]

According to one former Trump official, "all sense of normal order started to break down" and around early January, "the cracks were showing." While some people had been looking to find other jobs, others had been confused and it became "every man for himself," the former official added.

[...]

The Presidential Records Act outlines that the office of the presidency has an obligation to adequately document activities of the president. But there is little to no enforcement mechanism to ensure the law is followed. While there are criminal consequences for the destruction of government records, there are none that penalize the failure to create them in the first place.

That needs to be fixed.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.