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Jan. 6 committee seeks voluntary testimony from Ivanka Trump, Rep. Thompson says

Ivanka Trump Jan. 6 committee
Posted at 10:53 AM, Jan 20, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-20 13:25:25-05

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, said Thursday that the committee would invite Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of former President Donald Trump, to testify.

"You will anticipate the committee inviting some people to come talk to us," Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, told reporters. "Not lawmakers right now. Ivanka Trump."

A letter addressed to Ivanka Trump and signed by Thompson that's since been made public proposes the former president's daughter testify on Feb. 3 or 4.

Thompson did not provide details about when the committee would ask Ivanka Trump to testify.

Ivanka Trump worked as an adviser to the president throughout her father's four years in the White House. Earlier this month, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, told ABC News that the committee had "firsthand testimony" that Ivanka Trump had twice pleaded with her father to step in and intervene as his supporters ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 as he watched footage of the riots on television.

Cheney said that Trump initially resisted efforts to intervene during the riots. Eventually, he released a video urging rioters to "go home," and followed that video up with a tweet where he blamed the riots on false claims of widespread voter fraud.

Thompson's comments come a day after the Supreme Court forcefully rejected Trump's request to keep documents related to Jan. 6 out of the committee's hands.

Investigators in New York have already issued a subpoena to force testimony from Ivanka Trump, her father and her brother, Donald Trump Jr., in connection with a separate investigation into Trump Organization business practices. The former president filed a lawsuit several weeks ago in the hopes of blocking that testimony.