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 attempt to remain president after losing the 2020 election and his role in inciting an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The subpoena was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by ABC News.
Both Ivanka Trump and Kushner were active in her father’s 2016 campaign before serving as two of his White House advisers. She was in the Oval Office with her father on Jan. 6 when he called Vice President Mike Pence to pressure him to abuse his power as Senate president and block the congressional certification of the Electoral College results handing Joe Biden the presidency.
Ivanka Trump was also with her father during his rally at the Ellipse near the White House, where Trump supporters gathered before many went on to violently attack the Capitol. Kushner had returned from an overseas trip that day and arrived at the White House hours after the pro-Trump mob began its attack.
The couple, who testified before the House Jan. 6 Committee, said they tried to convince the president to tell the rioters to go home and to commit to a peaceful transfer of power to Biden. Ivanka Trump also testified that she believed there was no evidence of widespread election fraud, contrary to her father’s claims.
The Justice Department appointed Smith in November to take over its probe into Donald Trump’s role in the insurrection and his alleged mishandling of classified government records that were found last year at his personal home in Florida. The former president said he “won’t partake” in any probe conducted by the special counsel.
In addition to Ivanka Trump and Kushner, Smith has also reportedly subpoenaed Donald Trump’s former campaign officials, local election officials and Pence.
Pence has been critical of Trump’s behavior during the Jan. 6 attack and has dismissed his claims that Democrats engaged in voter fraud to favor Biden. Trump directed his ire at his vice president during the Ellipse rally, leading rioters to chant “Hang Mike Pence” while storming the Capitol.
The former vice president said he plans to fight Smith’s subpoena by arguing that it violates the “speech or debate” clause of the Constitution. Pence has also condemned the FBI’s raid on Trump’s home, saying that entering Mar-a-Lago to reclaim classified documents sent a “wrong” and “divisive” message to Americans.