WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has invited Ivanka Trump to give voluntary testimony.
In a letter sent Thursday to former President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, who served as a top White House adviser, committee chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said it was seeking information about her communications with the White House surrounding the attack.
The committee said it that has evidence Ivanka Trump was “in direct contact” with her father on the day of the riot and that she may have “direct knowledge” of the former president’s efforts to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence to block Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results.
Ms. Trump didn’t immediately response to a request for comment.
Thompson’s letter said the committee has obtained text exchanges and testimony given by former White House officials that show Ms. Trump could have persuaded him to act.
The committee also wants to discuss the effort after the attack “to persuade President Trump not to associate himself with certain people, and to avoid further discussion regarding election fraud allegations,” according to the letter.
Thompson requested to meet with Ivanka Trump in early February.
Earlier this month, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said the panel has testimony that Ivanka Trump asked the former president to intervene as his supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol.
“The committee has firsthand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office watching the attack on television as the assault on the Capitol occurred. We know, as you know well, that the briefing room at the White House is just a mere few steps from the Oval Office,” Cheney, the vice chair of the committee, said on ABC News’ “This Week” on Jan. 2.
She said that at any moment, Trump could have walked to the briefing room and appeared on television.
“We know members of his family, we know his daughter — we have firsthand testimony that his daughter Ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence,” said Cheney.
Over the past few months, the committee has been accelerating its investigation into the riot, as well as any actions or inaction by Trump and his allies. The panel also recently asked Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Scott Perry, R-Pa., to provide information about their activities. Thompson said that its ability to subpoena the lawmakers remains uncertain.
Ali Vitali and Haley Talbot contributed.