Liz Cheney: Jan. 6 Committee Has 'Firsthand Testimony' That Ivanka Trump Asked Her Dad to Put an End to Riots

"We know his daughter — we have firsthand testimony — that his daughter Ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence," Cheney said on ABC News this weekend

Liz Cheney (left), Ivanka Trump. Photo: Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images; Riccardo Savi/Getty Images

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney says the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots has "firsthand testimony" that Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, was among those who attempted to persuade the then-president to condemn the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking to ABC News' This Week on Sunday, 55-year-old Cheney said the commission has testimony that Trump, 75, was "sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office, watching the attack. The briefing room at the White House is a mere few steps from the Oval Office."

"We know as [Trump] was sitting there in the dining room, next to the Oval Office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television to tell people to stop," Cheney, vice chair of the committee, added. "We know [Republican] Leader [Kevin] McCarthy was pleading with him to do that. We know his daughter — we have firsthand testimony — that his daughter Ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence."

The news that Ivanka, 40, had pleaded with her father to put a halt to the riots was reported earlier, in an hour-by-hour investigation published by The Washington Post in October. But it's unclear when, or from whom, the House committee received sworn testimony about her attempts to persuade her father that day.

Ivanka wasn't the only one who attempted to intervene on Jan. 6. Last month, Cheney read aloud a text conversation in which the former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., begged Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to encourage Trump to take stronger action against the rioters.

"He's got to condemn this s--- ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough," a text sent by Trump Jr. to Meadows read, according to Cheney. (Trump Jr. was likely referring to a tweet from Trump on the afternoon of the insurrection that asked rioters to"remain peaceful" and "please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement.")

Meadows responded to Trump Jr., writing: "I'm pushing it hard. I agree," Cheney revealed.

In a series of follow-up texts, Trump Jr. continued: "We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

The texts from Donald Trump Jr. are among a series of messages that Meadows provided to the committee, which show that lawmakers, administration officials, and various Fox News personalities — including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham — were among those who urged Meadows to level with the president about the attack.

Before the rioting broke out, President Trump had publicly pressured his own vice president, Mike Pence, to somehow use his position to overturn the 2020 election results when Congress met to ratify now-President Joe Biden's victory on Jan. 6.

Speaking at a rally held shortly before before the mob at the Capitol turned violent, Trump encouraged his supporters to march to where Congress had convened. Though he said they should be peaceful, he also said they needed to "fight like hell" and risked losing their country.

At the Capitol, a swarm of Trump supporters overwhelmed law enforcement and breached the Capitol building, ultimately forcing Pence and other lawmakers to be quickly evacuated and placed under lockdown.

Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for his role in inciting the violence, but the Senate voted to acquit him of the charges.

Since leaving office, he has continued to falsely claim the election was "stolen" from him and he recently announced he plans to hold a press conference to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the riots. The press conference will coincide with a prayer service being held at the Capitol, to honor the lives lost that day.