Report: Texts show Ginni Thomas pushed Meadows to help overturn 2020 election
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Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, moderates a panel discussion during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 23, 2017, in National Harbor, Md. Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, played an active role in pushing then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to take measures to help overturn the 2020 election results, according to texts obtained by the Washington Post and CBS News.
Why it matters: The texts, which were among the materials Meadows handed over to the Jan. 6 select committee, reveal her deep ties to Trump's inner circle during a time "when Trump and his allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to negate the election results," the story notes.
- A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment. Thomas and an attorney for Meadows did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. A message to the public information officer at the Supreme Court also was not immediately answered.
What happened: On Nov. 10, after President Biden was projected the winner, Ginni Thomas texted Meadows, "Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!...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."
- A few weeks later, Meadows encouraged her to keep up hope in this "fight of good versus evil."
- "Thank you!! Needed that! … I will try to keep holding on. America is worth it!" she replied.
- The 29 messages reported by the Post and CBS News show that both Thomas and Meadows believed the election was stolen.
- She also urged Meadows to make Sidney Powell, a conspiracy theorist who spouted baseless claims of election fraud, "the lead and the face" of Trump's legal team and advocated for a forceful response to Trump staffers and Republican lawmakers who did not agree with the need to overturn the election.
- Four days after the Stop the Steal rally — which she attended — and the Capitol insurrection, Thomas texted Meadows doubling down on her support for Trump and criticizing Vice President Mike Pence, who had refused to interfere with the certification of Biden's victory.
- "We are living through what feels like the end of America," Thomas wrote. "Most of us are disgusted with the VP and are in listening mode to see where to fight with our teams. Those who attacked the Capitol are not representative of our great teams of patriots for DJT!!"
- "Amazing times," she said. "The end of Liberty."
- An attorney for Meadows confirmed the messages to the Post and CBS but would not comment on their contents except to say “nothing about the text messages presents any legal issues.”
The big picture: Thomas has long maintained that her work does not pose a conflict of interest for her husband.
- "Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work," told the Washington Free Beacon earlier this month.
- Clarence Thomas has not weighed in often on the 2020 election, but he dissented in February 2021 when the Supreme Court rejected challenges to the election filed by Trump and his allies, arguing that states need "clear rules for future election."
