Conservative activist Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told the House Jan. 6 committee Thursday that she still believes the 2020 election was stolen, the panel's chairman said.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., didn't give many other details about the interview.
According to her opening statement to the panel, obtained by NBC News, Thomas said she did not discuss any post-election activities with her husband. Thomas first came under scrutiny for text messages telling Mark Meadows, who was the White House chief of staff on Jan. 6, to encourage then-President Donald Trump not to concede the election to Joe Biden.
“Regarding the 2020 election, I did not speak with him at all about the details of my volunteer campaign activities. And I did not speak with him at all about the details of my post-election activities, which were minimal, in any event," Thomas said in her statement. "I am certain I never spoke with him about any of the legal challenges to the 2020 election, as I was not involved with those challenges in any way.”
Thomas also said her husband “was completely unaware” of her text messages to Meadows “until this Committee leaked them to the press.”
NBC News cameras outside the O’Neill House building captured Thomas as she arrived at the Capitol for the 9:30 a.m. interview and as she left the committee room at 1:59 p.m. after having spoken with the committee for around 3½ hours, including some breaks. NBC News saw her car leave shortly after the interview.
Thomas declined to answer questions from reporters outside the committee room.
A source close to the panel said last week that the committee had reached an agreement with Thomas to be interviewed after long negotiations.
Her attorney, Mark Paoletta, said in a statement that Thomas was "happy to cooperate with the Committee to clear up the misconceptions about her activities surrounding the 2020 elections" and noted that she had previously condemned the violence of Jan. 6, 2021.
Paoletta acknowledged that Thomas was worried about fraud in 2020. "Her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated," he said. "Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results."
Thompson and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., another committee member, told reporters Thursday they were pleased that Thomas agreed to speak with the panel.
“At this point, we’re glad she came,” Thompson said.
Asked whether any of her testimony will be included in the committee's next public hearing, he said it would if it were "something of merit."
Emails, records and reporting indicate that Thomas was involved in some aspects of a scheme involving “fake electors” after the 2020 election and was also in touch with Trump lawyer John Eastman about his strategies to overturn the election results. Eastman wrote memos pushing for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election.
Regarding Thomas' text messages to Meadows, Paoletta argued that she "never claimed to have first-hand knowledge about election fraud" and that she was "just passing along information that she had heard from others."
Thomas "expressed concern about the future of our country" under Biden, Paoletta said, "but none of it was unethical, much less illegal, and none of it suggests that Mrs. Thomas had even the slightest role in the January 6th attack on the Capitol, or even has any information about the attack."
The Jan. 6 committee delayed a public hearing that had been scheduled for Wednesday because of Hurricane Ian. Its members did not immediately provide a new date for the hearing.
