Trump's executive assistant was out of office during 7-hour gap in call logs: report​

On Thursday, Axios reported that Molly Michael, the executive assistant to former President Donald Trump, was absent for most of the day of the January 6 Capitol insurrection — coinciding with the 7 hour and 37 minute gap in White House call records that House investigators are trying to piece together.

"Though sources said the Trump White House's already spotty record-keeping operation had virtually collapsed by the final weeks of his presidency, Michael's absence is a previously unreported detail that may play a role in explaining the incomplete records for a key stretch of time," reported Jonathan Swan and Alayna Treene. "Her absence — coupled with the already shambolic state of record-keeping in the Outer Oval — also could complicate efforts to piece those details back together 14 months after that fateful day."

It remains unclear whom Trump contacted during that 7-hour gap, and investigators are reportedly looking into whether he used "burner phones" during that period. One former White House official had previously suggested the executive assistant could have been a witness to these conversations, but her absence could eliminate that as an option.

RELATED: Watch: 'Stop the Steal' organizer complains that the Jan. 6 Committee has her text messages

According to the report, she was out for "personal reasons" — and "in her absence, the two staffers there during the critical hours of the Capitol siege were Nick Luna, the head of Oval Office Operations, who served as Trump's body man, and Austin Ferrer, a young staffer who assisted Michael in her administrative duties. By the time Michael arrived, late that afternoon, the White House was a "'sh-tshow' in the words of one official who was there," writes Axios.

So far, Republicans known to have been in contact with Trump, like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), have been evasive when asked by reporters about the nature of their discussions around that time.