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 Guardian that the committee is discussing the matter, but wants to give her a reasonable amount of time to respond to a request they made for her testimony last month.
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 among 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 testimonies, White House staff requested that Ivanka Trump talk to the president to get him to intervene and stop the attack as it was unfolding.
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, Trump said that it was “very unfair” for the commission to ask for his daughter’s testimony.
Considering that even members of the administration 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.
However, the threat of legal action may compel Ivanka Trump and others to comply. Under a subpoena issued last year, former chief of staff Mark Meadows is complying with the committee; he started cooperating shortly after top Trump ally Steve Bannon was indicted and held in contempt of Congress for refusing the committee’s subpoena.
The Trump family has faced increased legal scrutiny in recent weeks. On Thursday, 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 accused the business of continually using fraudulent practices to make the business appear more successful than it is.
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