The House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol has requested an interview with Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter and White House adviser.
In a letter released on Thursday, the committee intimated that it is already aware that Ms Trump is privy to key details of that day.
“Testimony obtained by the committee indicates that members of the White House staff requested your assistance on multiple occasions to intervene in an attempt to persuade President Trump to address the ongoing lawlessness and violence on Capitol Hill,” read the letter from committee chairman Bennie Thompson.
Panel member Liz Cheney went public with the findings during an interview this month, indicating that Ms Trump had pleaded with her father to stop the attack while he watched it unfolding on television.
“We have first-hand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office, watching the attack. The briefing room at the White House is a mere few steps from the Oval Office,” Ms Cheney told ABC News.
“We know as [Mr Trump] was sitting there in the dining room, next to the Oval Office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television to tell people to stop.
“We know [Republican] Leader [Kevin] McCarthy was pleading with him to do that.
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Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP -
A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP -
The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP -
Riot police push back a crowd of rioters at the Capitol building. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol building. AFP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump try to open a door of the US Capitol building as they riot in Washington. AP -
US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP -
Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP -
Smoke fills the hallway outside the Senate chamber of the Capitol. AP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP -
Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP -
Newly installed razor wire tops the fence surrounding the US Capitol following the January 6 riot. Reuters -
Security agents and members of Congress barricade the door to the House chamber as the violent mob breaches the Capitol. AP -
Rioter Jacob Chansley holds a sign referencing QAnon as supporters of Mr Trump gather to protest the early results of the 2020 presidential election. Reuters
“We know his daughter — we have first-hand testimony — that his daughter, Ivanka, went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence.”
Other Trump loyalists to receive summons from the committee include his former personal lawyers, Rudolph Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, and his associate, Boris Epshteyn.
Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating financial improprieties involving The Trump Organisation, filed on Tuesday a motion to compel, in which she says Mr Trump and two of his children, Donald Jr and Ivanka, should be forced to give evidence under oath as part of her office’s civil investigation.
Mr Trump's son Eric has already appeared for a deposition in which he “invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to more than 500 questions over six hours”, the filing reads.
Ms James says that such actions “demonstrate that the men were aware of potential criminal liability in the case”.
The Trump Organisation was also indicted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office on July 1, 2021, on charges that include conspiracy, grand larceny, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.
