The special counsel overseeing the Justice Department’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to stay in power has subpoenaed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, according to multiple reports.
Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law to testify before a federal grand jury about Trump’s efforts to remain president after losing the 2020 election and his role in disrupting the uprising at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The subpoena was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by ABC News.
Ivanka Trump and Kushner were active in their father’s 2016 campaign before serving as both White House advisers. He was in the Oval Office with his father on January 6 when he called Vice President Mike Pence to pressure him to abdicate his powers as Senate president and block congressional certification of the Electoral College results that gave Joe Biden the presidency.
Ivanka Trump was also with her father during a rally on the Ellipse near the White House, where Trump supporters gathered before many stormed the Capitol. Kushner had returned from a trip abroad today and arrived at the White House hours after the pro-Trump crowd began its attack.
The couple, who testified before the Committee on January 6, said they were trying to convince the president to tell the rioters to go home and carry out a peaceful transfer of power to Biden. Ivanka Trump also testified that she believes there is no evidence of widespread election fraud, contrary to her father’s claims.
The Justice Department appointed Smith in November to take over the investigation into Donald Trump’s role in the rebellion and the alleged mishandling of classified government records found last year at his private home in Florida. The former president said he “will not participate” in any investigation by the special counsel.
In addition to Ivanka Trump and Kushner, Smith also reportedly called former Donald Trump campaign officials, local election officials and Pence.
Pence has been critical of Trump’s behavior during the Jan. 6 attack and rejected claims that Democrats engaged in voter fraud to elect Biden. Trump directed his anger at the vice president during an Ellipse rally, prompting rioters to chant “Hang Mike Pence” as they stormed the Capitol.
The former vice president said he plans to fight Smith’s subpoena arguing that it violates the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause. Pence also condemned the FBI raid on Trump’s home, saying entering Mar-a-Lago to retrieve classified documents sent a “wrong” and “divisive” message to America.