Conservative activist Ginni Thomas was cooperative during her closed-door interview Thursday with the Jan. 6 committee, according to the panel's chair and Thomas' lawyer.
Why it matters: Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who was in touch with key Trump advisors about schemes to overturn the 2020 election, was one of the committee’s last outstanding threads in its more than yearlong investigation.
What they're saying: Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the panel's chair, told reporters at the Capitol that he was in the interview for over an hour and that Thomas answered “some questions.”
- Thompson said Thomas maintained the 2020 election was stolen.
- “The information was typical of a lot of information we‘ve received from other people who were involved in this effort around Jan. 6. A lot of, ‘I believe something went wrong, and this is why,’” Thompson said of her testimony.
- Thompson said that while he was in the room, Thomas did not decline to answer any questions.
The other side: Thomas "was happy to cooperate with the Committee to clear up the misconceptions about her activities surrounding the 2020 elections," her attorney Mark Paoletta told Axios in a statement.
- Paoletta said Thomas "answered all of the Committee’s questions."
- "As she told the Committee, her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated. Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results," he said.
The bottom line: “She was there for a long time, she answered a lot of questions,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), another member of the Jan. 6 panel.
The context: Thomas came into focus for the committee after they obtained email correspondence between her and attorney John Eastman, who championed an effort to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to block the certification of electors on Jan. 6.
- The committee also obtained texts between Thomas and then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in which Thomas pushed 2020 election conspiracy theories and pushed the White House to do more to overturn the election.
- Thompson declined to say whether Thomas commented on her husband or her contacts with Meadows and Eastman. “We’ll just share that information later. I don’t want to get into a lot of specifics,” he said.
What we’re watching: It's not yet known whether video of Thomas’ testimony will be incorporated into the panel’s upcoming public hearing, which was scheduled for Wednesday but postponed due to Hurricane Ian.
- Thompson said the committee will incorporate her testimony "if there is something of merit."
- "It's an option. We have not made a decision. But she was one of those people we wanted to talk to ... so we'll discuss it as a committee as to how useful the information we received is and whether or not it can be put into the format of a hearing," Thompson said.
- A new date for the hearing has not been set, but members have indicated it is likely to be some time in October.
