A Virginia Thomas attorney wrote Tuesday in a letter to the Jan. 6 House committee that she wants “a better justification of why Ms. Thomas’ testimony is relevant,” before she can recommend the Conservative activist and woman of Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas sit down. for an interview.
“From my understanding of the communications that stimulated the Committee’s request, I do not understand the need to speak with Ms. Thomas,” attorney Mark Paoletta wrote to the committee investigating the 6 January 2021 at the United States Capitol. . Paoletta’s eight-page letter, which was obtained by CBS News, was first reported by the Daily Caller.
Thomas, known as “Ginni,” aroused the committee’s interest after he learned that he corresponded with John Eastman, a lawyer involved in the campaign to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify election results. . Thomas also attended the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol and urged former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows to work to undo the results of the 2020 election.
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson said on June 24 that he expected Thomas to appear before the committee, but said they had not yet agreed on “the parameters” for his interview.
But Paoletta in her letter expressed “grave concerns” about the committee’s effort to meet with Thomas and stated that “the Thomases have been subjected to an avalanche of death threats and other abuses.” He said he reviewed communications between Thomas and Eastman and found “not a single document” that showed 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,” Paoletta wrote.
As for Thomas’ communications with Meadows, Paoletta wrote that she “simply expressed concerns about the 2020 election.”
“It is important that Ms. Thomas never claimed to have first-hand knowledge about election fraud,” Paoletta wrote.
The January 6 commission has held several hearings over the past few weeks to share the information it has learned with the public. Former Meadows chief aide Cassidy Hutchinson was the star witness at Tuesday’s surprise hearing. Hutchinson stated that on Jan. 2, Meadows told him that “things could get really bad on Jan. 6.”
The January 6 committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Graham Kates is an investigative journalist who covers criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com