Cheney: Jan 6 Commission Has “First Hand Testimony” That Ivanka Asked Trump To Intervene During Uprising On Capitol Hill

(CNN) – Members of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan.6 riots on Capitol Hill said Sunday they have important testimonies about communications with former President Donald Trump on the day of the deadly attack.

Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, a vice chair of the commission and one of its two Republican members, told ABC News that the panel has “first-hand testimony” that during the attack, Trump’s daughter and then senior adviser Ivanka Trump asked her to to intervene. And Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, told CNN the panel has “significant testimony” that the White House “had been told to do something.”

“We know of her daughter … we have first-hand testimony that her daughter Ivanka went at least twice to ask her to ‘please stop this violence,'” Cheney told ABC News. CNN previously reported on some of these interactions, described in the book “I Alone Can Fix It,” by The Washington Post journalists Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker.

Thompson told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday: “We have significant testimonies that lead us to believe that the White House had received messages to do something. We want to verify everything so that when we produce our report and when we have the hearings, the public has a chance to see it for themselves. “

He added: “Well, all I can say is that it is very unusual for anyone in charge of something to see what is going on and do nothing.”

Asked if he thinks then-President Trump’s actions during the insurrection justify a criminal referral, Thompson replied: “We don’t know. […]. If there is something that we find as a commission that we believe warrants a referral to the Justice Department, we will do it. “

Comments on Ivanka Trump, a few days before the first anniversary of the attack

Comments arrive days before first anniversary of the attack, in which a pro-Trump mob temporarily overpowered law enforcement officers and stormed the Capitol, attacking officers and destroying parts of the iconic building. The resulting chaos led to the death of several people on or shortly after the attack, while several officers who served on Capitol Hill during the attack subsequently died by suicide.

The commission chaired by Thompson has been investigating the attack and the events that preceded it since 2021. Much of the work of this commission has been done behind closed doors, and an interim report on its findings is not expected until the summer.

The commission chairman said Sunday that the panel has “some concerns” about possible financial fraud by Trump and his allies surrounding the insurrection.

“It is highly concerning on our part that people are raising money for an activity and we cannot find the money that is being spent for that particular activity,” Thompson said. “So we will keep looking at it and financing is one of those things that we will keep looking at very closely.”

He also did not want to say whether the panel plans to subpoena members of Congress, such as Trump ally Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, to cooperate with the commission.

“I would expect those individuals who were sworn in as members of Congress to come forward,” he said. “That is why we have asked them to come forward voluntarily.”

“War room”

Thompson noted that the panel is still working on witness testimony and documents about the makeshift “war room” at Washington’s Willard Hotel that was run by Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon on the day of the attack.

“Part of our job is trying to access the records of that day, who paid for it. Bernie Kerik is significant. He started cooperating with our commission, we hope that cooperation will continue,” he said. “The hotel has been asked to provide us with information, so we are in the process of doing our research.”

CNN previously reported that Kerik, the former New York City Police Commissioner, released emails showing him cutting off payments for a suite of rooms at the hotel, where Trump’s “war room” operated after the election, and instructing Giuliani to pay part of the bill.

“Clearly it can never be closer to the Oval Office.”

During the interview with ABC, Cheney reiterated his strong reservations about Trump’s suitability for a future position.

“Any man who doesn’t, any man who provokes a violent assault on the Capitol to stop the counting of electoral votes, any man who watches on television how police officers are beaten, how his supporters invade the United States Capitol , he is clearly unfit for a future position, “Cheney said. “Clearly it can never be closer to the Oval Office.”

Asked if he thinks the investigation and the commission’s report could change opinions, Cheney said he’s hopeful because the work is being done on a bipartisan basis.

“It is a work that brings together a group of people who have very different political points of view, but who come together when the issues have to do with the defense of the Constitution, and that gives me hope,” he said.