Ivanka Trump And Jared Kushner Subpoenaed In Jan. 6 Probe, Report Says

Topline

A special counsel has subpoenaed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner as part of the investigation into former President Donald Trump and the Jan 6. riot, the New York Times reported Wednesday, as the already-unprecedented criminal probe draws even closer to the former president.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump attend a meeting held by President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room … [+] of the White House.

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Key Facts

Special counsel Jack Smith asked Trump’s eldest daughter and her husband to testify to a grand jury about January 6 and Trump’s post-election behavior, the Times reported, citing two unnamed sources.

It’s unclear what information Smith hopes to learn from the couple, but they both held White House jobs during Trump’s gambit to stay in office after the 2020 election, and they spoke to a House committee investigating the January 6 riot last year.

On the day of the January 6 riot, Ivanka Trump was one of several staffers who pushed her father to condemn the rioters and tell them to disperse from the Capitol grounds, White House aides testified to the House January 6 committee.

Forbes has reached out to the Department of Justice, Trump’s office and attorneys who previously represented Ivanka Trump and Kushner for comment.

Key Background

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to serve as special counsel in November, shortly after Trump announced a 2024 presidential bid. The longtime prosecutor was tasked with leading two separate inquiries: A probe into the January 6 riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and an investigation into Trump’s handling of classified materials. Former Vice President Mike Pence was also subpoenaed by Smith earlier this year, but Pence is planning to fight complying with the subpoena. Both probes have accelerated in recent months, possibly putting Trump closer to legal jeopardy than any other former president in recent memory.

What To Watch For

The Times reported last month that Smith could make his first charging decisions this summer. Prosecutors will likely start with charges in the relatively straightforward classified documents case rather than the complex and politically perilous January 6 case, the paper reported. But Trump could face more immediate legal exposure in Georgia, where a state prosecutor has suggested charging decisions are “imminent” in an investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn that state’s election results.

Tangent

Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s testimony to the House January 6 committee drew widespread attention last year when excerpts were played during the panel’s televised hearings. Notably, Ivanka Trump told lawmakers she “accepted” former Attorney General William Barr’s belief that the 2020 election wasn’t marred by voter fraud, contradicting her father’s false voter fraud claims. The former president publicly insisted on social media his daughter hadn’t assessed any voter fraud evidence and had “long since checked out.”

Surprising Fact

It’s unclear how closely tied Ivanka Trump and Kushner are to the former president’s political operation. After Trump announced a 2024 presidential run last year, his daughter said in a statement she no longer plans to be “involved in politics,” pledging to “prioritize my young children” and support her father “outside the political arena.” Still, this isn’t the first post-Trump Administration legal battle to ensnare Ivanka Trump: The New York Attorney General’s office is suing Ivanka Trump, several of her siblings, her father and the family business in civil court, accusing them of fraudulent financial dealings.