Jan. 6 Committee Unlikely to Subpoena Ginni Thomas, as Liz Cheney Reportedly Doesn’t Want to Tarnish Clarence Thomas

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Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) does not want the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to avoid issuing a subpoena for Virginia Thomas. The congresswoman does not want to tarnish Thomas’ husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the New York Times reported.

At this stage it appears the committee is unlikely to issue her a subpoena, per the Times.

Ginni Thomas texted former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows more than two-dozen times after the 2020 election.

According to the Washington Post, Thomas hoped to inspire former President Donald Trump in his effort to overturn the results.

“Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!” Ginni Thomas wrote to Meadows on Nov. 10, 2020. “You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America’s constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.”

Meadows wrote to Ginni Thomas two weeks later, saying, “This is a fight of good versus evil. Evil always looks like the victor until the King of Kings triumphs. Do not grow weary in well doing. The fight continues. I have staked my career on it. Well at least my time in DC on it.”

Ginni Thomas also sent Meadows a message which invoked a QAnon conspiracy theory about watermarked mail-in ballots.

The committee obtained the messages from Meadows before he stopped cooperating.

Ginni Thomas, meanwhile, has been under public scrutiny for some time.

According to the Times, Cheney wished to avoid targeting the wife of a Supreme Court justice beloved by conservatives.

The paper reported,

In the Thomases, the committee is up against a couple that has deep networks of support across the conservative movement and Washington, including inside the committee. The panel’s Republican vice chairwoman, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, has led the charge in holding Mr. Trump to account for his efforts to overturn the election, but has wanted to avoid any aggressive effort that, in her view, could unfairly target Justice Thomas, the senior member of the Supreme Court.

So although a debate has broken out inside the committee about summoning Ms. Thomas to testify, the panel at this point has no plans to do so, leaving some Democrats frustrated. That could change, however: On Friday, despite the potential for political backlash, Ms. Cheney indicated she has no objection to the panel asking Ms. Thomas for a voluntary interview.

Cheney is facing serious primary challenges. Last month, she was censured by the Wyoming Republican Party for voting to impeach Trump.