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Let no one accuse Jack Smith of timidity. It was just two weeks ago when the public learned that the special counsel overseeing two criminal investigations into Donald Trump had sent subpoenas to some prominent members of the former president’s inner circle, including former Vice President Mike Pence. A similar report soon followed on the subpoena for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The list is apparently still growing. The New York Times reported:
Former President Donald J. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have been subpoenaed by the special counsel to testify before a federal grand jury about Mr. Trump’s efforts to stay in power after he lost the 2020 election and his role in a pro-Trump mob’s attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to two people briefed on the matter.
If recent history is any guide, we’ll soon hear talk from the former president’s political allies about the special counsel “going after” Trump’s “children,” so let’s go ahead and state the obvious: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were powerful and highly influential White House officials with offices in the West Wing.
Smith’s reported subpoenas are not targeting members of Trump’s family, so much as they’re seeking information from highly relevant witnesses who are in a unique position to shed light on the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack and the campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
As the Times’ report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added, “Ms. Trump was in the Oval Office on Jan. 6 as her father placed a late-morning call to Mr. Pence to pressure him to block or delay congressional certification of the Electoral College results documenting Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. ... Ms. Trump also accompanied her father to the rally of his supporters at the Ellipse near the White House.”
Kushner, meanwhile, was in communication with then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during the Jan. 6 violence, and the presidential son-in-law said he played a role in getting Trump to record a video encouraging the rioters to leave Capitol Hill.
It’s not too surprising, in other words, that Smith and Justice Department investigators might want to have a chat with these two.
The former president probably won’t quite see it that way, it’s entirely possible that the Republican will take steps to try to block their testimony. It’s worth noting, however, that both Kushner and his adult daughter answered questions at length from the Jan. 6 committee, and their testimony was included in the bipartisan panel’s final report and presentation.