The House select committee investigating last year’s Capitol riot requested Thursday that Ivanka Trump voluntarily appear before the panel next month.
In an eight-page letter to the former first daughter, committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) pointed out that Ivanka was in contact with her father on Jan. 6, 2021, and observed key communications between the 45th president and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
“On January 6th, you were serving as Advisor [sic] to the President and head of the White House Office of Economic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship, and were present in the West Wing of the White House,” Thompson wrote. “We write to request your voluntary cooperation with our investigation on a range of critical topics.”
Panel Chairman Bennie Thompson pointed out that Ivanka was in contact with her father on Jan. 6, 2021. AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteThompson promised that Ivanka would only be asked questions about issues related to Jan. 6, “activities that contributed to or influenced events” on that day, or the younger Trump’s “role in the White House during that period.”
The letter outlines four subjects of the committee’s potential interview with Ivanka, including any conservations she “may have witnessed or participated in regarding the President’s plan to obstruct or impede the counting of electoral votes,” the former president’s immediate response — or lack thereof — to the deadly riot, whether her father gave any order to deploy the National Guard to the Capitol, and his conduct and activities in the days that followed.
In its request, the committee alleged that Ivanka Trump had direct knowledge of Donald Trump’s attempt to convince Pence to reject electors from battleground states where the former president believed voter fraud had occurred.
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images“One of the President’s discussions with the Vice President occurred by phone on the morning of January 6th. You were present in the Oval Office and observed at least one side of that telephone conversation,” the letter read.
Thompson also cited other testimony to the committee that indicated White House staff asked Ivanka Trump to help intervene “in an attempt to persuade President Trump to address the ongoing lawlessness and violence on Capitol Hill.”
The chairman proposed Ivanka Trump meet with the committee on Feb. 3 or 4, but indicated the panel could also arrange a meeting during the week of Feb. 7.
“A full and accurate accounting of what happened on January 6th is critical to the Select Committee’s legislative recommendations,” Thompson concluded. “And the American people deserve to understand all the relevant details. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.”
In recent months, the committee has subpoenaed dozens of Trump supporters and allies for their testimony or documents regarding the riot. Many, including ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, have denied the request, citing their Fifth Amendment rights.
The Capitol riot committee requested that Ivanka Trump voluntarily appear before the panel next month. AP Photo/Charlie NeibergallThursday’s request for testimony is similar to requests sent to Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.).
All three lawmakers have rebuffed the committee.
Last week, McCarthy blasted the inquiry, saying the panel “wants to interview me about public statements that have been shared with the world, and private conversations not remotely related to the violence that unfolded at the Capitol. I have nothing else to add.”
The committee is expected to extend a similar request to Pence in the coming weeks.
Ivanka Trump had not responded to the committee’s letter as of Thursday afternoon.








