Ginni Thomas, wife of Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is pictured in 2017 at an American Conservative Union rally.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Ginni Thomas, wife of Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is pictured in 2017 at an American Conservative Union rally.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Ginni Thomas, a longtime GOP activist who is also the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will appear before the House panel on Thursday, Jan. 6. The closed session was confirmed by sources familiar with the committee’s work.
The committee first asked to interview Ginni Thomas about her communications with those pushing a plan to reject the 2020 election results, including her discussions with John Eastman, one of the campaign leaders. Eastman, a conservative attorney, penned a memo outlining a plan to throw out electoral votes in several states and served as outside counsel to President Donald Trump in late 2020.
Thomas acknowledged attending a Trump rally on the morning of Jan. 6 at the Ellipse, but criticized the violence on Capitol Hill that followed the rally. In the weeks leading up to the attack on the Capitol, Thomas contacted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows via text message, raising concerns about voter fraud. Legal challenges in several states alleging fraud in the 2020 election have all been dismissed by the courts.
White House lawyers and counsel from then-Vice President Mike Pence pushed back against efforts by Eastman and other Trump allies to have Congress overturn the election results, saying they violated the Constitution and would be firmly rejected by the Supreme Court if the case were ever argued. the. The court declined to hear election challenges from Trump and his allies and Judge Thomas dissented, saying the judges should have heard the case. Some critics have argued that he should have recused himself from matters surrounding the election because of his wife’s political advocacy.
After her communications with Meadows were released, Thomas said she was willing to appear, and months of negotiations followed.
The Jan. 6 committee was due to hold its ninth and likely final investigative hearing this week, but postponed the public hearing due to Hurricane Ian. President Bennie Thompson said he plans to announce a new date soon.
