The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building shared video testimony Thursday night from Ivanka Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser while he was in the White House.
The video was included in the January 6 committee’s first night of primetime public hearings.
The committee showcased how Ivanka Trump had accepted former Attorney General William Barr’s assessment that election fraud had not affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, despite her father’s repeated claims since losing to President Joe Biden.
The committee also shared video of Barr’s testimony.
“I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out there stuff which I told the president was bullshit, and, you know, I didn’t want to be a part of it,” Barr said.
Barr explained that Trump’s continued insistence that the Department of Justice (DOJ) pursue phony claims of fraud was part of the reason he left his position early.
“You can’t live in a world where the incumbent administration stays in power based on its view, unsupported by specific evidence, that there was fraud in the election,” Barr added.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), vice-chair of the January 6 committee, juxtaposed Barr’s words with Ivanka Trump’s testimony, showcasing that even the former president’s inner circle — including his family members — recognized that the 2020 presidential race had not been affected by fraud.
Ivanka Trump explained to the committee that Barr’s conclusions on election fraud, which he had stated publicly in December 2020, had affected her perspective on the matter.
“I respect Attorney General Barr. So I accepted what he was saying” about fraud having no effect on the election, Ivanka Trump said.
Ivanka Trump said under oath she "accepted what [Barr] was saying" about election fraud claims being bullshit. pic.twitter.com/MdZv5DzADW
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 10, 2022
Donald Trump’s assertions that voter fraud played a role in his loss have never been substantiated, and most of his claims have been outright debunked.
On the day of the certification of the 2020 election, Trump repeated these claims to his followers in an incendiary speech outside of the White House, telling his supporters they’d “never take back [the] country with weakness.” He then instructed his loyalists to march to the Capitol, where they proceeded to violently breach the building.
Donald Trump reacted to his daughter’s testimony on Friday morning, writing on his social media site Truth Social that Ivanka Trump “was not involved in looking at, or studying, Election results.”
“She had long since checked out,” Trump added, “and was, in my opinion, only trying to be respectful to Bill Barr and his position as Attorney General (he sucked!).”
However, Ivanka Trump was in the White House while the attack on the Capitol was taking place. The January 6 committee has also said it has evidence that she “has direct knowledge of the former President’s attempt to persuade Vice President [Mike] Pence to take action to stop the counting of electoral votes.”
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