Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were subpoenaed Wednesday by the special prosecutor overseeing investigations involving former President Donald Trump, according to a published report.
The New York Times, citing two people “briefed on the matter,” reported that special counsel Jack Smith decided to call the former senior White House officials to testify before a federal grand jury.
Smith’s investigation is probing the incidents leading up to and surrounding Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to remain in office after he lost the 2020 election and the former president’s role in an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper’s report about the subpoena comes two weeks after former Vice President Mike Pence was subpoenaed by Smith. Pence said last week that he would challenge the subpoena, calling it “unconstitutional and unprecedented,” The Associated Press reported. Pence said that the probe violated the “speech or debate” clause of the Constitution because of his role as Senate president on the day the Capitol was breached.
It was unclear whether Donald Trump will attempt to block the two latest subpoenas on the grounds of executive privilege, the Times reported. Ivanka Trump and Kushner served as White House senior advisors during Donald Trump’s term in office, according to CNBC.
[ Reports: Former Vice President Mike Pence subpoenaed in Trump investigation ]
The former president did not try to step the couple from testifying before the House special committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, the Times reported.
A spokesman for Smith and an attorney for Kushner did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on report, CNBC reported. An aide to Ivanka Trump and Kushner did not respond to a request for comment by the Times. Josh Stueve, a spokesperson for Smith, declined to comment.