What is Trump hiding? The Capitol riot-sized hole in White House call log

At 2.26pm on 6 January last year, Donald Trump picked up a White House phone and placed a call to Mike Lee, the Republican senator from Utah. The communication came at a very significant moment.

The January 6 insurrection was under way.

David Frum, a former White House speechwriter for George W Bush, writing in the Atlantic, said there were two major lines of inquiry: did Trump give a go-ahead to the Capitol insurrection in advance, and did he coordinate in any way with the attackers.

As a result of the missing logs it is unclear whether the then president remained in touch with the Willard Hotel group as the insurrection unfolded. Nor is it known whether they discussed any further tactics.

Both organisations have members who are being prosecuted for criminal acts on January 6. Earlier this month the leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was arrested on conspiracy and other charges. The founder of the Oath Keepers and 10 other members have been charged with seditious conspiracy.

Those words could easily have come from the mouth of Donald J Trump. The challenge facing the committee, in the absence of the vanishing phone logs, is to establish are they true.