Ivanka Trump in talks to voluntarily appear before January 6 committee, spokesperson says
Ivanka Trump is considering appearing before the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a spokesperson for former President Trump's daughter told CBS News on Wednesday. Last month, the committee asked Ivanka Trump, who served as an adviser to her father, to voluntarily speak with them.
"Ivanka Trump is in discussions with the Committee to voluntarily appear for an interview," the spokesperson told CBS News.
The news, which was first reported by The New York Times, comes just over a month after Chairman Bennie G. Thompson sent a letter to Ivanka Trump requesting that she appear before the committee. The letter said the committee believes that she was at the White House on January 6 and in the Oval Office when then-President Trump had a phone call with then-Vice President Mike Pence. The chairman wanted to ask her about this, as well as if she heard or was a part of any other conversations about her father's plan to "obstruct or impede the counting of electoral votes."
According to Thompson's letter, many White House staffers repeatedly asked former President Trump to dissipate the crowd at the U.S. Capitol once it turned violent. Some allegedly asked Ivanka Trump to speak with her father.
"Testimony obtained by the Select Committee indicates that members of the White House staff requested your assistance on multiple occasions to intervene in an attempt to persuade President Trump to address the ongoing lawlessness and violence on Capitol Hill," the letter said.
In response to Thompson's letter, a spokesperson for Ivanka Trump said last month that she had not spoken at the January 6 rally. The spokesperson added that she put out a public call to stop the violence once it started, saying: "Any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful."
If Ivanka Trump appears before the committee, she will be one of the former president's closest allies to do so. Since the committee was formed, it has sent over 80 subpoenas to former members of the Trump administration as well as those involved in the January 6 rally, according to Thompson.
Last month, the committee issued subpoenas to top Trump allies Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Boris Epshteyn, who all sought to overturn the 2020 election results.
Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows, former Trump aides, have been held in contempt for refusing to appear. Bannon was charged by the Justice Department. Both have said they received instructions directly from Trump — who claims executive privilege from his time in office prevents him from speaking to the committee — to disobey the committee's requests.
Melissa Quinn and Caroline Linton contributed reporting.