January 6 committee chairman says panel will meet with Virginia Thomas this week
She is a conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
WASHINGTON -- The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol will interview Ginni Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, "sometime this week," the panel's chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, told CNN Wednesday.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
Thomas' attorney, Mark Paoletta, confirmed the voluntary interview in a statement last week, saying, "As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas is eager to answer the Committee's questions to clear up any misconceptions about her work relating to the 2020 election. She looks forward to that opportunity."
Members of the panel have long said they are interested in speaking with Thomas, particularly after CNN first reported text messages she exchanged with then-Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows prior to January 6 about overturning the election.
But in the months after those messages emerged, there had been little indication that compelling her to testify was a top priority for the panel despite subsequent evidence that Thomas also encouraged state lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin to overturn Joe Biden's legitimate electoral win.
RELATED: Ginni Thomas urged White House chief of staff to challenge 2020 election results, text messages show
Thomas attended the rally that preceded the attack on the US Capitol, as she said in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, where she stressed that her and her husband's professional lives are kept separate. She also said that she had left the gathering before the protesters turned violent.
She has also been publicly critical of the House January 6 investigation, calling on House GOP leaders to boot from their conference the two Republicans serving on the select committee.
Thompson also told CNN that the panel had yet to reschedule its next hearing, after postponing it on Wednesday because of Hurricane Ian. The Mississippi Democrat said he doubts the hearing will take place next week.
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