Panel interviews Ginni Thomas

WASHINGTON -- Virginia Ginni Thomas, the wife Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas stood by her claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent in a Thursday interview with the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 rebellion, the chairman of the panel said.

After the nearly four-hour interview, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D. Miss., said to reporters, "It's still a work-in-progress." "At this point we're glad that she came."

The committee, which is comprised of seven Democrats as well as two Republicans, has been seeking an interview with Thomas for months in order to learn more about her role in helping former President Donald Trump win his election victory. In the weeks following the election, the conservative activist reached out to Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff, and reached out to lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin.

Thomas answered some questions from congressional investigators on Thursday, as she tried to portray herself as one of many Americans who still believe Trump’s claim that the 2020 elections were stolen. According to a person who was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation, Thomas answered some of these questions.

The person stated that she didn't provide any evidence or specific reasoning to support her belief.

Mark Paoletta, Thomas' attorney, stated in a statement that "As she had said from the beginning, Mrs. Thomas had substantial concerns about fraud and irregularities during the 2020 election." "And, as she stated to the Committee, her main activity was to ensure that irregularities and fraud reports were investigated."

He added, "Beyond this, she played no part in any events following the 2020 election results."

Thomas' testimony was the final one left for the panel as they tried to complete their work. The panel has already interviewed over 1,000 witnesses and shown some video testimony during its eight hearings this summer.

It is not clear how much she was involved in the attack on Capitol. Thomas emailed two Arizona lawmakers to ask them to vote for "a clean slate" and to resist media and political pressures in the days following the Associated Press's call for the presidential election of Biden. The emails were obtained by the Associated Press earlier this year through the state's open record law.

In interviews, she stated that she was present at the first pro-Trump rally on Jan. 6, but left before Trump spoke.

Thomas, a Trump supporter, has maintained repeatedly that her political activities did not pose a conflict of interest with her husband's work.

"We share many of the same ideals and principles as many married couples. We have our own careers and our own opinions. Clarence doesn’t discuss his work, and I don’t involve him in mine,” Thomas said to the Washington Free Beacon during a March interview.

Justice Thomas was the only dissenting voice in January's Supreme Court ruling that allowed a congressional committee access the presidential diaries, visitor logs and speech drafts of President Barack Obama.

Ginni Thomas has been openly critical about the work of the committee, including signing onto a letter addressed to House Republicans calling for the expulsions of Reps. Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.

This article was written by Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro. Eric Tucker and Rick Gentilo are from The Associated Press.