Trump said he doesn't know what a 'burner phone' is. John Bolton says he does.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said in an interview Tuesday that he heard former President Donald Trump use the phrase "burner phone" on multiple occasions with full knowledge of its meaning, CBS News election correspondent Robert Costa reports.
Bolton's statement contradicts Trump's claim that he has "no idea what a burner phone is." A burner phone is an untraceable pre-paid cellphone that does not require the user to provide personal details or create an account.
A Washington Post report published Tuesday revealed that the Jan. 6 committee is investigating whether Trump might have used burner phones that day after they discovered a gap of seven hours and 37 minutes in his telephone communications. Trump also frequently used his personal cellphone or those of his aides to make calls.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Official White House records show that Trump made no calls between 11:17 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. Protesters began breaching the Capitol's police barricades shortly before 1:00 p.m.. By 5:30 p.m., National Guard units had begun securing the Capitol.
Trump definitely made at least one call during that time period when, at around 2:00 p.m., he called Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and asked to speak to Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). According to CNN, Trump and Tuberville spoke for "less than 10 minutes."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
How China is battling the chikungunya virus
Under The Radar Thousands of cases of the debilitating disease have been found in the country
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chops
Feature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
Book reviews: 'Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji' and 'Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story'
Feature The surprising history of emojis and the brother duo who changed pop music
-
The NCAA is a 'billion-dollar sports behemoth' that 'should not be a nonprofit'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLS
speed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National Guard
Speed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern
-
Trump-Putin: would land swap deal end Ukraine war?
Today's Big Question Ukraine ready to make 'painful but acceptable' territorial concessions – but it still might not be enough for Vladimir Putin
-
Israel: Losing the American public
Feature A recent poll finds American support for Israel's military action in Gaza has fallen from 50% to 32%
-
Unmaking Americans: Trump aims to revoke citizenship
Feature Trump is threatening to revoke the citizenship of foreign-born Americans. Could he do that?
-
Trump: Redesigning the White House
Feature Donald Trump unveiled a $200 million plan to build a White House ballroom
-
Texas gerrymander battle spreads to other states
Feature If Texas adopts its new electoral map, blue states plan to retaliate with Democrat-favored districts