The headline on Jamelle Bouie’s latest column gets right to the point: “Ginni Thomas Has a Lot of Explaining to Do.” It works because it’s true.
As we’ve discussed, the far-right activist played a role in Donald Trump’s pre-riot Jan. 6 rally, had extensive communications with then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, pressured congressional Republicans to reject legitimate election results, reached out to Jared Kushner about legal options surrounding the larger anti-election offensive, and communicated with Republican state legislators about helping execute a plot to undermine our democracy.
This week, we learned that Thomas was even in communications with Trump lawyer John Eastman as the Republican lawyer tried to advance a coup scheme he knew to be illegal.
Given her role in trying to overturn an American election, Thomas seems like the sort of person who should probably testify before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. As it turns out, the bipartisan panel apparently agrees. CNBC reported:
The chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot on Thursday said that the panel will invite Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to testify about her involvement in efforts to reverse Donald Trump’s presidential election loss.
“We think it’s time that we, at some point, invite her [Ginni Thomas] to come talk to the committee,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee’s Democratic chair, told reporters shortly before yesterday’s proceedings. The Mississippi congressman added that the invitation would be based on “information we have come upon.”
This took on a degree of formality later in the day: Thomas was served with a letter yesterday afternoon. The committee hopes to hold the Q&A in early July.
The far-right activist told a conservative website called The Daily Caller that she’s willing to testify. “I can’t wait to clear up misconceptions,” the far-right activist said yesterday. “I look forward to talking to them.”
As for Thomas’ interactions with Eastman, as we discussed yesterday, the timing wasn’t great: The Republican lawyer privately claimed ahead of Jan. 6 that he had behind-the-scenes insights into Supreme Court deliberations. It was around the same time that Eastman was in communication with the spouse of a sitting far-right justice.
Yesterday, Eastman acknowledged that he exchanged emails with Ginni Thomas, but he insisted the messages were innocuous. Given his credibility issues, it’s difficult to take his denial at face value.
