Virginia’s attorney Thomas wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives committee on Tuesday, Jan. 6, that he wanted “a better justification as to why Ms. Thomas’s testimony was appropriate” before he could recommend the Conservative activist and the Supreme Court judge’s wife. court Clarence Thomas to sit down for an interview.
“Based on my understanding of the communications that prompted the Committee’s request, I do not understand the need to speak to Ms. Thomas,” wrote lawyer Mark Paolletta to the commission investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Paoleta’s eight-page letter, received by CBS News, was first reported by the Daily Caller.
Thomas, known as “Ginny,” caught the commission’s interest after learning he was in correspondence with John Eastman, a lawyer involved in a campaign to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify election results. Thomas also attended a rally ahead of the Capitol attack and called on former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows to work to have the election results canceled in 2020.
The commission’s chairman, Benny Thompson, said on June 24 that he expected Thomas to appear before the commission, but said they had not yet agreed on the “parameters” for her interview.
But Paoleta expressed “serious concern” in the letter about the commission’s efforts to meet with Thomas, saying “Thomas was subjected to an avalanche of death threats and other abuses”. He claims to have reviewed communications between Thomas and Eastman and found “no documents” showing coordination between the two.
“And besides, all these emails were exchanged on or before December 9, before voters met and were certified by each of their states,” Paoleta wrote.
Regarding Thomas’s communications with Meadows, Paolletta wrote that she “simply expressed concerns about the 2020 elections.”
“The important thing is that Ms. Thomas has never claimed to have first-hand information about election fraud,” Paolletta wrote.
In recent weeks, the commission has held several hearings since January 6 to share the information it has learned with the public. Former Meadows chief aide Cassidy Hutchinson was the main witness to Tuesday’s surprise hearing. Hutchinson testified that on January 2, Meadows told her that “on January 6, things could get really, very bad.”
The Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on 6 January.
Attack on the US Capitol
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Graham Cates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, confidentiality and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com
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