The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Trump’s missing Jan. 6 call logs raise questions

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The Bobs have another big Jan. 6 update — there’s a gaping hole in Trump’s call logs: 

CBS News’s Robert Costa and The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward report that former President Trump’s call logs given to the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, 2021, are missing a seven-hour period.
 

The gap in time when Trump did not place or receive any calls on Jan. 6, 2021: From 11:17 a.m. to 6:54 p.m.  

^ I.e.: During the siege of the U.S. Capitol 

Keep in mind: “The seven-hour gap … stands in stark contrast to the extensive public reporting about phone conversations he had with allies during the attack.”  

Did Trump use a burner phone? — what happens now: “The House panel is now investigating whether Trump communicated that day through backchannels, phones of aides or personal disposable phones, known as ‘burner phones,’  according to two people with knowledge of the probe.” 

Read the full reporting: Here’s the CBS News link: https://cbsn.ws/3uB6ppM  And The Washington Post link: https://wapo.st/3uBCHRB 

And read the documents, tweeted by Costa: https://bit.ly/3DiKuaV 

 

It’s Tuesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com  — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and  Facebook.

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IN THE WHITE HOUSE 

Cleanup on aisle 46:

Yesterday, President Biden sought to clarify his weekend comments toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing that when he said Putin “cannot remain in power,” it was meant as an expression of “moral outrage,” not a policy change. https://bit.ly/3uDUWpu  

In Biden’s words: “I wasn’t then nor am I now articulating a policy change. I was expressing moral outrage that I feel and I make no apologies for it,” Biden said. Watch Biden’s full response: https://bit.ly/3uEKaPx    

The nine words that complicated matters: Biden said, in a reportedly unscripted moment during Biden’s Saturday comments, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” 

SOME PERSPECTIVES ON BIDEN’S COMMENT: 

Biden may have given Putin a gift — and now he’s trying to take it back: Read Niall Stanage’s column in The Hill: https://bit.ly/3wNxvwI  

That one comment overshadowed an otherwise successful trip: More from The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Alex Gangitano:  https://bit.ly/3uIYsz0  

How Biden’s comment angered the GOP: Via The Hill’s Emily Brooks: https://bit.ly/3qJBYwk 

 

THE LATEST IN UKRAINE 

Russia and Ukraine are making some progress in negotiations: 

Via The New York Times’s Anton Troianovski and Ivan Nechepurenko, “Russia and Ukraine achieved their most significant progress yet in peace negotiations on Tuesday, with Moscow promising to reduce ‘by multiples’ the intensity of its military activity around Kyiv and to its north.” https://nyti.ms/3wMyehr 

A potential compromise: “Ukrainian officials for the first time outlined potential concessions over territory occupied by Russia, proposing that negotiations about the status of Crimea — the Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow seized and annexed in 2014 — be conducted over a period of 15 years, with Ukraine refraining from trying to retake the peninsula by force.”  

What we know: https://nyti.ms/3wMyehr  

OP-ED: “The next step: Push the Russians back” https://bit.ly/3iIuIMS 

 

IN CONGRESS 

Throwing some red meat into the ring: 

Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “President Biden’s proposal to impose a 20 percent minimum tax on billionaires is a sign that Democrats are looking ahead to the midterm elections and scrambling for a good message in a tough political environment.” https://bit.ly/3wIAGFF 

^ Will this actually happen?: Not likely. “The proposal itself has an uphill path to becoming law … but it gives Democrats a great talking point to capitalize on the unpopularity of billionaires such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.”  

It puts Republicans in a tough spot, as well: “Republicans are leery about attacking the proposal because they don’t want to be seen as siding with billionaires, which makes it a good talking point for Democrats when inflation is a major problem…”  

What to expect: https://bit.ly/3wIAGFF 

 

GETTING TRACTION

Will Smith apologizes: 

Will Smith issued an apology to Chris Rock after slapping him onstage at the Oscars in response to a joke about his wife.  

Excerpt of the apology: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”

He concluded: “I am a work in progress.”

Read his full apology post on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3DzpCwh 

 

LATEST CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 79,997,466

U.S. death toll: 977,947

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y 

 

VACCINATION NUMBERS: 

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 559 million shots have been given. 

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 99,957 doses 

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. 

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH 

 

NOTABLE TWEETS: 

This is what you tell a teacher when you haven’t even started the paper that is almost due: 

Actress Julia Fox teased her upcoming book during an interview with Variety. Her description is seriously worth watching. Watch the 33-second video from Variety: https://bit.ly/3JUfSik 

 

ON TAP: 

The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. 

8:45 a.m. EDT: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief. 

10:45 a.m. EDT: President Biden meets with Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, in the White House. 

11:45 a.m. EDT: Two Senate votes. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3qJFyGM 

2:05 p.m. EDT: President Biden pays his respects to the late Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). 

2:15 p.m. EDT: A cloture vote in the Senate. 

5:15 – 7 p.m. EDT: First and last votes in the House. The House’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3qMBSEq 

5:30 p.m. EDT: Two confirmation votes in the Senate. 

 

WHAT TO WATCH: 

12:45 p.m. EDT: President Biden and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong make a joint statement. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3qJtJQU 

3 p.m. EDT: White House communications director Kate Bedingfield holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/36DrsQz 

4 p.m. EDT: President Biden signs the “Emmett Till Antilynching Act” into law. Vice Biden and Vice President Harris deliver remarks. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3qJqUzA 

IN LIGHTER NEWS: 

Today is National Chiffon Cake Day. 

And because you read this far, here’s a chipmunk named Bob having an afternoon snack: https://bit.ly/3iNVSC9   

^ This video has more than 6 million views so far.