Ginni Thomas meets with January 6 committee

CNN

By Annie Grayer, Sara Murray, Kristin Wilson, Andrew Millman and Paul LeBlanc, CNN

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is meeting with the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol on Thursday.

When entering her voluntary interview, Thomas declined to tell CNN why she felt the need to speak to the committee and instead said, “thank you for being here.”

Thomas also declined to say whether she spoke with her husband, Justice Thomas, about her beliefs that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“Thank you for your question, I look forward to answering members,” she told CNN.

Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson initially told CNN on Wednesday that the House select committee would interview Thomas this week.

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.

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.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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CNN’s Jamie Gangel, Ariane de Vogue and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.