Ivanka Trump Is Reportedly Cooperative During Appearance Before January 6 Committee

Topline

Ivanka Trump answered questions and apparently did not assert any privileges or invoke the Fifth Amendment during her virtual testimony Tuesday before the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot, setting her apart from other Trump Administration figures who sought to avoid the committee by asserting executive privilege or other doctrines, according to reports.

Key Facts

Ivanka Trump was still testifying at least five hours after commencing her appearance before the committee Tuesday morning, Politico reporter Kyle Cheney said in a tweet.

Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters Tuesday afternoon Trump was answering questions “not in a broad chatty term, but she’s answering questions,” Axios reported.

Trump’s decision to appear without a subpoena “has obviously significant value,” Thompson added, according to Radio France Internationale.

Thompson previously said he had evidence that Ivanka Trump was in contact with then President Donald Trump at crucial moments on the day of the riot, and that she observed a phone call between her father and then Vice President Mike Pence regarding plans to have Pence overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Ivanka Trump testified days after her husband, Jared Kushner, voluntarily appeared before the committee and provided what committee member Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) called “helpful” information.

A representative for the Trumps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Key Background

According to some accounts of the day of the riot, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called Ivanka Trump to urge her to persuade her father to have the rioters leave. Former National Security Advisor Keith Kellogg suggested that Ivanka Trump repeatedly appealed to her father to issue a statement calling off the rioters, adding that Ivanka Trump “can be pretty tenacious.” After the committee requested Ivanka Trump and Kushner voluntarily appear to discuss their knowledge of events surrounding the riot, the White House announced it would waive executive privilege for both of them.Though neither Ivanka Trump nor Kushner had indicated ahead of time they intended to invoke executive privilege—the doctrine allowing presidents to withhold information to protect the public interest—several other former Trump Administration officials have invoked executive privilege to justify refusing the committee’s subpoenas. Some other figures, such as former Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division Jeffrey Clark and former Trump legal adviser John Eastman, appeared before the committee but invoked the Fifth Amendment dozens of times, refusing to answer most questions.

What We Don’t Know

Ivanka Trump’s testimony could throw new light on activities in the Oval Office on the day of the riot. Ivanka Trump may be able to confirm or refute testimony by Kellogg and others alleging that Donald Trump accused Pence of cowardice in a last-ditch attempt to enlist Pence in a scheme to undo Joe Biden’s election win—an incident Thompson said Ivanka Trump was present for. Ivanka Trump and Kushner’s voluntary cooperation with the committee may also discourage other Trump Administration figures from risking felony contempt of Congress charges by defying the committee’s subpoenas.

Further Reading

“White House Waives Executive Privilege For Jared Kushner And Ivanka Trump Ahead Of January 6 Committee Appearances” (Forbes)