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Thursday, September 29th, 2022 3:21 pm EDT
A House select committee on Thursday interviewed Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as part of its investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Virginia Thomas, who goes by Ginni, arrived at a Capitol Hill office building flanked by security and spoke with the committee for about 3.5 hours, NBC News reported.
Thomas did not answer any questions reporters asked upon her arrival or during the three breaks she took throughout the day, NBC reported. “Thank you for being here,” she said in the morning in response to one question, a CNN video showed. “Thank you for your question,” she replied to another.
Reports have indicated that Thomas was involved in efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results and discussed those efforts with Trump administration officials.
Thomas left the building around 2 p.m. ET, according to NBC.
Her attorney, Mark Paoletta, said in a statement after the interview that Thomas “was happy to cooperate with the committee to clear up the misconceptions about her activities surrounding the 2020 elections. She answered all of the committee’s questions.”
“As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas had significant concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election,” Paoletta’s statement said. “And, as she told the Committee, her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated.”
“Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results. As she wrote in a text to [Trump White House chief of staff] Mark Meadows at the time, she also condemned the violence on January 6, as she abhors violence on any side of the aisle,” Paoletta said.
A spokesman for the committee declined CNBC’s request for comment on the interview. A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court did not respond to an email requesting comment.
Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., previously confirmed that the panel would interview Ginni Thomas this week.
The panel is investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, when a violent mob of then-President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The insurrection forced lawmakers to flee their chambers and temporarily stopped them from confirming President Joe Biden‘s victory over Trump in the 2020 election.
The committee was scheduled to hold its ninth public hearing this week but postponed it due to Hurricane Ian, the major storm that was approaching Florida at the time.
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