Mary Trump says Donald Trump will 'stop protecting' Ivanka and 'throw anybody under the bus' if he thinks it will benefit him

• Mary Trump, Donald Trump's niece, says he will "stop protecting" Ivanka Trump if it no longer benefits him.

• Trump said the former president will "throw anybody under the bus" if necessary.

• Ivanka Trump was asked by the January 6 panel last week to cooperate with their investigation.

Former President Donald Trump's niece, author Mary Trump, said her uncle would "stop protecting" his daughter Ivanka if he thinks it is in his best interest.

Speaking to MSNBC host Alex Witt on Sunday, Mary Trump said it was unlikely that Donald Trump would take any heat to shield his children.

"Donald isn't playing the card that she's his child to protect her. He's doing that to protect himself because he knows she may indeed have potentially damning information," Mary Trump said.

She added that she thought her cousin Ivanka was likely making a "calculation" at this point about what will "help her in the long run."

"(Ivanka) knows she has to come down on the right side of things. Or, she'll continue to stay her father's ally, and have to see how that plays out," Mary Trump said. "She's in a very bad situation because she must understand that if Donald feels it's necessary, he will stop protecting her."

"Donald will throw anybody under the bus if he believes it's in his best interest to do so. If he believes it'll help play out the clock, if he believes that it will help him avoid accountability, that's all he cares about," Mary Trump said.