The House Special Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots asked Ivanka Trump, the daughter of former President Donald Trump and then a senior White House adviser, to voluntarily cooperate with the investigation, an important step in the committee's investigation into the former president's caucus. The committee released a letter to Ivanka Trump, dated Thursday, calling for "voluntary cooperation with our investigation." In an 11-page letter, the commission revealed explosive new details about the former president's actions in the days leading up to Jan. 6. The special committee focused on three main issues: Trump's blocking of election result certification, his reaction to congressional riots, and why the deployment of the National Guard was delayed.
The letter included new testimony from Trump on the morning of Jan. 6 to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to yield to his will, as well as new text messages from Fox host Sean Hannity in the wake of the attack urging the White House to get Trump to stop talking about the election being stolen and distance the former president from certain "lunatics." A spokesman for the former president's daughter told CNN Thursday afternoon that "Ivanka Trump just learned that on Jan. 6 the committee released an open letter asking her to attend." ”
Ivanka's spokesperson continued, "As the committee already knows, Ivanka did not speak at the January 6 rally, as she publicly stated at 3:15 p.m. that day, 'Any security breach or disrespect for our law enforcement is unacceptable, the violence must stop immediately, please remain calm.'" And when asked if the statement meant that Ivanka Trump would not abide by the invitation, the spokesperson did not respond.
The invitation to Ivanka is the first time the committee has sought testimony from members of the president's family, the latest indication that the committee is closely examining the behavior of Trump and those around him before, during and after January 6, according to outside analysts. CNN reported earlier this week that the committee summoned Eric Trump and a collaboration with Donald Trump Jr. Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was engaged, got their call logs. The committee decided to seek testimony from Ivanka Trump publicly, just the day before the Supreme Court approved the publication of the Trump White House presidential record through the National Archives.
The commission's letter to Ivanka provided more details about the issues the committee had identified and what it wanted from Ivanka Trump. The committee wrote that Pence's national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, testified that Trump tried to coerce Pence on the morning of Jan. 6 while on the phone. Kellogg reiterated at the hearing that the former president told Pence, "You're not tough enough to make a decision." Kellogg also confirmed Trump's claim on the phone that if Pence didn't do what he asked, he would have chosen the wrong running mate.
Trump said at the time, "Mike, that's not right. If you can do it, I count on you. If you hadn't done that, I would have chosen the wrong person four years ago and you'd back. Kellogg also said at the hearing, "After the call, Ivanka Trump said to him, 'Mike Pence is a good guy.'" ”
The committee asked Ivanka Trump to describe the conversation, as well as any other conversations she may have witnessed, in which her father discussed plans to thwart or obstruct the election certification process. The committee also wanted to learn more from Ivanka about her father's "state of mind" at the time of the attack. The letter also stated that the committee considered Ivanka the only person who could reason with the "stubborn president" and expressed a hope to meet with her "soon."