This post has been updated since it was originally published to include recent facts
Ivanka Trump – who served as senior White House advisor during her father Donald Trump’s presidency – reportedly testified remotely via video link for around eight hours on April 5th, 2022 to the US House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6th 2021 siege on the US Capitol. The 41-year-old mom-of-three’s testimony before the bipartisan congressional committee came just five days after husband Jared Kushner (who was a fellow former presidential adviser) also answered questions from the committee for over six hours – and now we *finally* have more information about what she said!
Jan. 6 committee tears into Ivanka Trump for not being ‘forthcoming,’ memory woes https://t.co/3IeQOmrhtR
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 21, 2022
Ivanka Trump’s Testimony Before The US House of Representatives Committee
According to an executive summary report released Monday, December 19th ahead of the panel’s final report which is set to be released sometime this year, Ivanka “was not as forthcoming as [other witnesses] about President Trump’s conduct.” According to People, the committee believes that she didn’t share her full recollection of the events that took place on January 6th, including the full account of what happened at a speech her father gave just hours before the Capitol riots.
When committee staff asked Ivanka if she had attended the Stop the Steal rally on the morning of the riots in an effort to “calm the president,” she reportedly said, “no,” adding: “I don’t know who said that or where that came from.” The committee also revealed that Ivanka “acknowledged” some of the claims surrounding her final months as a White House adviser, including that she and then-Attorney General William Barr both agreed that there was “no evidence” of significant election fraud. She also reportedly agreed that her father watched the attack on the Capitol on television “as it was occurring.”
The @January6thCmte saying Ivanka Trump was
“NOT forthcoming” is an understatement! Seems she left her memories at home during her testimony.“I don’t remember”
“I don’t recall”
“As I testified”
“I wasn’t in the room for very long” pic.twitter.com/ur9vqHXZkw
— Stephanie Winston Wolkoff (@SWinstonWolkoff) December 30, 2022
Ivanka's Former Chief Of Staff Spills More Details
The committee reportedly deemed that Julie Radford, Ivanka's former chief of staff, "had a more specific recollection of Ivanka Trump's actions and statements." Radford reportedly told the committee that Ivanka was concerned about her father's demeanor after she heard him speaking to Vice President Mike Pence, saying: "Ivanka shared that he had called the Vice President [an expletive word.] I think that bothered her." She added: "And I think she could tell based on the conversations and what was going on in the office that he was angry and upset and people were providing misinformation. And she felt like she might be able to help calm the situation down, at least before he went on stage."
Ivanka Says She 'Fought Like Hell' To Convince Donald Trump To Stop Insurrection
Interestingly, the newest transcript from the testimony has revealed a lot more information on what went on behind closed doors on the night of the insurrection, and it looks like Ivanka, as well as other members of White House staff, didn’t have any influence on President Trump's actions and his failure to intervene, no matter how hard they tried!
Ivanka allegedly first learned about what was happening at the Capitol when senior adviser Eric Herschmann "barged" into her office with the news, which led to her immediately rushing to her father, who was in the private dining room, to help him write something on Twitter.
According to the transcript, Ivanka helped her father write yet another tweet as the violence was continuing, saying: "It was important to underscore the goal. Here he says, you know, very specifically, 'No violence!' with an exclamation mark." However, the committee told Ivanka that helping her father compose a few tweets wasn’t enough, and asked her why she didn’t "do more" in helping him come to the right decision. Her answer was interesting, as she suggested that nobody can tell her father what to do – not even his own daughter – but reportedly reiterated that she "fought like hell to do the best job" she could in spite of everything that was happening.
"I intervened when I felt like I had the knowledge and was apprised of the conversations and could do so," she reportedly said, adding, "But he’s the President of the United States. I’m his advisor, and I’m one of many advisors. I’m also his daughter."
Previous Reports About Testimonies Before Jan 6. Committee
Last year, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, 41, told the Jan. 6 committee that he urged the then-president "not to take advice from Rudy Giuliani, who was peddling wild election conspiracy theories," as NBC News writes. The panel’s interview session with Kushner had many takeaways, and in a brief snippet that aired during the public hearing on June 13th, Kushner was asked if he ever shared his beliefs on Giuliani’s legal work with the then-president at the time.
In the clip, Kushner says, "I guess — yes." When asked what he said to Trump, Kushner responded, "‘Basically, not the approach I would take if I was you.’" As NBC reports, Trump was unmoved. Kushner said Trump then said, "You know, I have confidence in Rudy." The clip was played after top Trump advisers said an apparently "inebriated" Giuliani had urged Trump to declare victory on election night, which the advisers argued against. Trump took Giuliani’s advice and delivered remarks from the White House, saying, "Frankly, we did win this election."
Former Trump adviser Jared Kushner testifies that former President Trump said, “I have confidence in Rudy [Giuliani],” when Kushner pushed back on Trump declaring victory on election night. pic.twitter.com/D07UAOt8gE
— The Recount (@therecount) June 13, 2022
The committee also showed a video of Ivanka Trump testifying that she did not believe that her father was in a position to declare victory on Election Day. She stayed at the White House on election night and moved between the residence and a nearby room where some family members were. Asked if she weighed in on the debate on whether her father should assert victory, IvankA said, "I don’t know that I had a firm view as to what he should say, in that circumstance. The results were still being counted. It was becoming clear that the race would not be called on election night."
In a clip that the panel played at its first hearing on Thursday, the first daughter's opinion was swayed weeks later when then-Attorney General William Barr said there was no evidence of any fraud that would have impacted the outcome of the 2020 election. "It affected my perspective. I respect Attorney General Barr, so I accepted what he was saying," Ivanka said.
Donald Trump Dubs Ivanka's Jan. 6 Committee Interview 'A Shame' And 'Harassment'
The former president sat down for a discussion with The Washington Post soon after about his daughter’s interview with the Jan. 6 committee and dubbed it "a shame" and "harassment." The former first daughter voluntarily testified before the panel, and her father also told The Post that he offered "privilege" to both his daughter and son-in-law, but neither of them agreed to this. As a former president, Trump learned he cannot offer "blanket executive privilege to shield testimony," as Insider writes. Trump also said to The Post that he did not know what his daughter told the members of the committee when testifying, and didn’t have knowledge as to what her husband said either.
One member of the panel reportedly described Kushner’s testimony as "valuable" and they managed to get some "helpful" information out of it; although it is not being released to the public just yet. "There were some things revealed, but we’ll just share that a little later," Representative Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman, said about Kushner’s testimony.
Bennie Thompson on Ivanka Trump’s testimony today before Jan. 6 committee: “She's answering questions. I mean, you know, not in a broad, chatty term, but she's answering questions," he tells @AnnieGrayerCNN . https://t.co/mUziIYxXz3
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 5, 2022
Ivanka Was Reportedly 'Cooperative' Throughout The Process
The committee reportedly interviewed over 800 witnesses in its attempts to compile the most accurate record of the attack. It's important to note that Ivanka never attempted to invoke her right to remain silent, and was reportedly "answering questions" throughout the testimony. Ivanka was reportedly in the West Wing with her father at the time of the riots, and was said to be one of the people who tried to persuade him to call off the rioters.
Thompson said of her testimony at the time, "She's answering questions. I mean, you know, not in a broad, chatty term, but she's answering questions." Thompson also said that Ivanka was cooperative throughout the process, adding, "She came in on her own, that has obviously significant value. We did not have to subpoena."
