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.
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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."
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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.
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