The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack is considering issuing Ivanka Trump a subpoena to compel her to cooperate with their investigation into former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
An anonymous source told The GuardianThe committee is still discussing the matter but would like to give her enough time to respond last month to their request for her testimony.
If the committee follows through, Ivanka Trump would be the first member of the former president’s family to be forced to testify against him. She would also be included in the highest ranking members of Trump’s circle to be subpoenaed by the committee so far.
In January, the committee Requested Ivanka Trump’s testimony because of her apparent inside knowledge of the plot to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election. The commission also sought information on Trump’s actions and mindset as the Capitol attack was unfolding, as Ivanka Trump was close to the president on January 6 and the days leading up to the attack.
The commission is specifically interested in exploring the White House’s delay in calling in the National Guard to help abate the attack as Capitol Police failed to hold pro-Trump militants back. According to the letter requesting Ivanka Trump’s testimony from committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), there is evidence that Trump may have been purposely delaying the National Guard.
According to previous testimony, Ivanka was requested by White House staff that Ivanka talk to the president in order to get him to stop the attack as it was happening.
Though she hasn’t explicitly rejected the request, a spokesperson for Ivanka Trump has deflected inquiries about any potential appearance, saying that she didn’t speak at the rally that took place shortly before the attack – something that the committee never called into question. After the request was made, Trump said that it was “very unfair” for the commission to ask for his daughter’s testimony.
Even members of the administration are affected. who have been subpoenaed have attempted to dodge the legal mandate to appear before the committee, it’s unlikely that Ivanka Trump would voluntarily choose to appear.
Ivanka Trump and others may be forced to comply by the threat of legal actions. The subpoena was issued last year to former Mark Meadows, chief of staffcomplies with the committee; he began cooperating shortly afterwards Steve Bannon, a top Trump ally was indicted and held in contempt of Congress for refusing the committee’s subpoena.
In recent weeks, the Trump clan has come under increasing legal scrutiny. Thursday was a New York judge ruled that Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. must answer questions under oath about Trump’s business practices. The order is part of an ongoing investigation into Trump’s business by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has accusedThe business of using fraudulent methods to make it appear more successful than it actually is.
