Donald Trump used a Secret Service agent's phone to call Melania Trump after the Stormy Daniels allegations broke: report

CNN reported on Sunday that then-President Trump used a Secret Service agent's phone to call his wife after the Stormy Daniels affair broke.

The then-president had a habit of using the phones of close aides during his White House tenure.

Trump's activities as president have been scrutinized as the Jan. 6 House panel probes official government call logs.

Get a daily selection of our top stories based on your reading preferences. Loading Something is loading. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Then-President Donald Trump used a Secret Service agent's phone in an attempt to reach his wife, then-first lady Melania Trump, after the story on his affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels broke in 2018, CNN reported on Sunday.

Trump was not keen on anyone listening to his calls — a difficult proposition in the highly-secure White House — so he would often utilize the phone of a close aide or Secret Service agent if he needed to make calls, CNN reported.

After the Daniels news hit the media, Trump was on a golf course and called his wife from his phone, but she did not pick up, according to a source who spoke with the network.

The then-president reportedly used a Secret Service agent's phone in a renewed attempt to contact his wife.

Melania Trump answered the call that came from the agent's phone, per the report.

However, the Secret Service agent whose phone was used by Trump was not thrilled with the manner in which his device was used, according to CNN.

The Wall Street Journal in January 2018 first reported that Trump had arranged a $130,000 hush-money payment to stop Daniels — an adult-film actress whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford — from disclosing her accusations of an affair with Trump before the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels alleged that she and Trump had sex in 2006 — a year after the businessman and Melania wed and following the recent birth of their son, Barron.

The Secret Service development comes as Trump's phone records are being scrutinized by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, riot, which has found gaps in official White House call logs, according to a New York Times report.

The House panel has not found evidence "that any official records were tampered with or deleted," per the Times report, but also noted that the then-president had a habit of relying on the phones of aides in his orbit.

According to sources who spoke with CNN, the committee has found "unusual" breaks in between the then-president's calls on January 6, from his return to the White House following the "Stop the Steal" rally at the Ellipse until his brief Rose Garden statement addressing the riot.

There is a possibility that the National Archives might uncover additional records on the phones of advisors or other West Wing staffers to connect the gaps that currently exist, CNN reported.

Several sources informed the network that former White House deputy chief of staff for communications and director of social media Dan Scavino was one of the main communication links for Trump. A lawyer for Scavino did not provide a comment to CNN.

But, one source told the network that Scavino often handed his phone to Trump, calling him the "key to pretty much everything," especially given his close relationship to the then-president.

Scavino was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee last year, but he filed a lawsuit against Verizon stemming from the panel's subpoena of his phone logs.

Currently, the lawsuit has prevented the phone company from providing Scavino's call records to the House.