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Jared Kushner will appear virtually before the House Jan. 6 committee in a private hearing Thursday after the White House announced it would not assert executive privilege over Kushner’s testimony.
Kushner served as a senior adviser to former President Trump and is married to his daughter Ivanka. The Jan. 6 committee will question Kushner regarding his role in the events leading up to and during the storming of the Capitol.
The committee is also expected to request testimony from Ivanka Trump. White House communications director Kate Bedingfield confirmed to reporters Tuesday that the White House has declined to limit Ivanka Trump and Kushner’s testimony.
In this Aug. 13, 2020 file photo, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner speaks at a press briefing. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
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“The president has spoken to the fact that Jan. 6 was one of the darkest days in our country’s history and that we must have a full accounting of what happened to ensure that it never occurs again,” Bedingfield told reporters during a daily briefing. “And he’s been quite clear that they posed a unique threat to our democracy and that the constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield from Congress or the public information about an attack on the Constitution itself. So, as a result, the White House has decided not to assert executive privilege over the testimony of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.”
Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to President Donald Trump, speaks during a campaign event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Kushner is the highest ranking member of the Trump White House to agree to testify before the committee.
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Kushner’s appearance comes as the Jan. 6 committee is also investigating a nearly eight-hour gap in the White House phone records that day. Kushner is unlikely to offer insight into the matter, however, as he was returning from a trip to Saudia Arabia during the riot and was not at the White House.
The gap in records ran from 11:17 a.m. ET to 6:54 p.m. ET, essentially encompassing the riot entirely. Trump began his speech to rallygoers near the White House at noon, and law enforcement declared the Capitol secure against the rioters at 5:30 p.m.
The committee also filed a report calling for the House of Representatives to hold former Trump aides Peter Navarro and Daniel Scavino in contempt of Congress on Monday. The pair have so far avoided subpoenas by claiming executive privilege.
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Biden has stated that executive privilege shouldn’t prevent either Scavino or Navarro from testifying or providing records, however. Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee chair, has argued the pair should face criminal charges.
“They’re not fooling anybody. They are obligated to comply with our investigation. They have refused to do so. And that’s a crime,” Thompson said Monday.
