Former US President Donald Trump's daughter and White House aide Ivanka Trump will be among the next targets of the January 6 committee.
On Thursday, the US House of Representatives' panel investigating the deadly Capitol attack requested an interview with Ivanka Trump.
In a letter to Ivanka Trump, lawmakers said they were seeking her voluntary cooperation as part of their ongoing investigation.
The panel said she "was present in the Oval Office" during key conversations leading up to Jan. 6, and observed a telephone conversation between her father and former Vice President Mike Pence on the morning of the riot. Donald Trump had tried to persuade Pence to reject the results of the election.
The panel, according to the letter, have evidence suggesting that Trump’s daughter fielded requests from other White House staffers for her to intervene and press her father into action, potentially by calling federal agencies and requesting deployment of law enforcement or the National Guard.
“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,” reads the letter.
However, Ivanka Trump’s statement on the matter, given to NBC News minutes after the committee’s request was made public, did not address that issue.
According to the statement, she was not on the speaking list for the rally outside of the White House at which her father asked his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” for his false claims about the 2020 election.
“Ivanka Trump just learned that the January 6 Committee issued a public letter asking her to appear. As the Committee already knows, Ivanka did not speak at the January 6 rally,” said a spokesperson for her.
“As she publicly stated that day at 3:15pm, ‘any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful,’” the spokesperson noted.
At least seven people died during the Capitol attack, including a police officer, and more than 700 have been arrested for crimes related to the breach so far.