Big Lie efforts by Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to overturn the 2020 election results reportedly extended to GOP members of Congress, according to NBC News. The report comes days after the Washington Post and CBS News revealed explosive text messages from Thomas to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the weeks after the election.
Days after the 2020 election, Thomas reportedly emailed an aide to then-incoming Republican Study Committee chair Jim Banks (R-IN), according to NBC News. Thomas reportedly wrote to Banks’ aide that she was more aligned with the far-right House Freedom Caucus, whose leaders spearheaded GOP efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s electoral victory in Congress.
Thomas reportedly wrote to Banks’ aide that she views Freedom Caucus members to be tougher than RSC members in terms of pushing the Big Lie. Additionally, Thomas threatened that she would not help the RSC, the largest caucus of conservatives in Congress, if she did not see its members “out in the streets” and in the fight, according to NBC News.
Despite the RSC representing the majority of conservative House members, the tea party-driven Freedom Caucus has increasingly gained more traction in recent years with its embrace of Trump and his election fraud falsehoods as Republicans look to take back Congress in the midterm elections later this year.
Thomas’ email to Banks in Nov. 2020 reportedly followed a request from the RSC to offer policy recommendations ahead of Banks’ term as chair of the caucus.
According to NBC News, Banks’ aide thanked Thomas for her suggestions and moved on. The email exchange reportedly made no specific references to GOP efforts to overturn the election results on the day of the joint session of Congress certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
NBC News’ report comes days after Thomas’ reported efforts to push the Big Lie in a series of text exchanges with Meadows were revealed.
According to the Post, the text messages it obtained between Thomas and Meadows were among the 2,320 that the former Trump official provided to the Jan. 6 Select Committee during his short-lived cooperation with the panel. The Post and CBS News reviewed 21 messages sent by Thomas and eight messages sent by Meadows.
Days after major networks projected Biden’s victory in Nov. 2020, Thomas reportedly complained about congressional Republicans in one text to Meadows on Nov. 10. Thomas wrote that she wished more Republican lawmakers proved their loyalty to Trump by being “out in street rallies” with his grassroots supporters who were also pushing the Big Lie.
“House and Senate guys are pathetic too… only 4 GOP House members seen out in street rallies with grassroots… Gohmert, Jordan, Gosar, and Roy,” Thomas reportedly texted Meadows, appearing to refer to Freedom Caucus members Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Chip Roy (R-TX).
The Jan. 6 Select Committee is reportedly discussing whether to call Thomas to come before the panel, according to CBS News and CNN.
The Committee’s meeting scheduled on Monday will reportedly include discussion of inviting Thomas to speak with the panel and issue a subpoena if necessary, according to CBS.
Thomas’ reported messages with Meadows follows her remarks to the Washington Free Beacon earlier this month, in which she admitted to attending the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the deadly Capitol insurrection — but only until she “got cold and left early.”
Thomas, however, claimed that she did not help organize the rally, despite her reported ties to the rally’s organizers. Thomas maintained that her attendance at the rally has “no bearing” on her husband’s work amid scrutiny over whether her conservative activism posts conflicts of interests for Justice Thomas’ role on the high Court, especially in cases related to the Jan. 6 insurrection and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
