{"id":3106,"date":"2022-03-30T12:25:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T12:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/ginni-thomas-texts-leave-gop-lawmakers-scrambling-thehill-the-hill\/"},"modified":"2022-03-30T12:25:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T12:25:49","slug":"ginni-thomas-texts-leave-gop-lawmakers-scrambling-thehill-the-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/30\/ginni-thomas-texts-leave-gop-lawmakers-scrambling-thehill-the-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling | TheHill – The Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ginni Thomas’s text messages to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows<\/a>\"\"Mark Meadows<\/a>Jared Kushner expected to sit for interview with Jan. 6 panel this week: reports<\/a> Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Schumer says Thomas should recuse himself<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol have sparked questions over the extent of her activism within the GOP.\u00a0
It\u2019s also left Republican lawmakers grappling with how to respond to Thomas and her husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas<\/a>\"\"Clarence Thomas<\/a>Jared Kushner expected to sit for interview with Jan. 6 panel this week: reports<\/a> Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Schumer says Thomas should recuse himself<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>.
Thomas sent a total of 21 text messages to Meadows urging him to find a way to keep former President Trump<\/a>\"\"Donald Trump<\/a>Trump says he’s uninterested in being Speaker if GOP retakes House<\/a> Perdue says he ‘misunderstood’ Trump supporters’ ‘lock him up’ chants about Kemp<\/a> Jared Kushner expected to sit for interview with Jan. 6 panel this week: reports<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> in office.
Her efforts may have gone beyond her messages to Meadows. NBC News reported that Thomas also reached out to an aide with the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, asking for its members to go \u201cout in the streets.\u201d\u00a0
A Republican Study Committee aide disputed that characterization, but in doing so acknowledged the existence of an exchange with Thomas: \u201cIt’s a misleading description of a single departed staffer\u2019s recounting of an email exchange from 15 months ago,\u201d the aide said.
Thomas has been a regular presence in conservative activism circles for years. But her activities were not widely questioned until recently, when a New Yorker profile and the subsequent release of the text messages highlighted her involvement with \u201cStop the Steal\u201d groups and suggestions of avenues to try to overturn the election.
Her contact with Republicans in support of Trump is also placing scrutiny on her husband, who is facing growing calls from Democrats to recuse himself from cases related to the Capitol riot. Many Republicans see the Supreme Court as their best chance for blocking the House investigation into the attack, underlining his importance.\u00a0
It also seems increasingly possible that Ginni Thomas could be called to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
\u201cBased on the evidence we have in our possession, I feel very confident with inviting her to the committee, and if she refuses, issuing a subpoena,\u201d Rep. Bennie Thompson<\/a>\"\"Bennie Gordon Thompson<\/a>Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden touts record US military budget, swipes anew at Putin<\/a> Jan. 6 panel votes to advance contempt proceedings for Navarro, Scavino<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (D-Miss.), the chairman of the select committee, told CBS this week.
Thomas\u2019s texts included shoutouts to Reps. Louie Gohmert<\/a>\"\"Louis (Louie) Buller Gohmert<\/a>Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Photos of the Week: Ukraine, Holi and Carole King<\/a> 16 House Republicans vote against bill to promote education on internment camps<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (Texas) and Paul Gosar<\/a>\"\"Paul Anthony Gosar<\/a>JD Vance: Greene ‘did nothing wrong’ by attending white nationalist conference<\/a> Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Democratic super PAC launches ads partially in Ukrainian in key states<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (Ariz.), two of the conservative Republicans identified by Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander as being central to the effort, as well as mentions of well-known conservative Reps. Jim Jordan<\/a>\"\"James (Jim) Daniel Jordan<\/a>Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Juan Williams: The GOP shows its true face<\/a> Issa lays groundwork for House GOP probe into Hunter Biden laptop story<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (Ohio) and Chip Roy<\/a>Charles (Chip) Eugene Roy<\/a>Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Here are the eight Republicans who voted against ending normal trade relations with Russia<\/a> 16 House Republicans vote against bill to promote education on internment camps<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (Texas).
In one text message to Meadows on Nov. 6, 2020, Thomas expressed frustration that members of Congress were not doing more to support Trump: \u201cHouse and Senate guys are pathetic too… only 4 GOP House members seen out in street rallies with grassroots… Gohmert, Jordan, Gosar, and Roy.\u201d
Many Republican members of Congress are familiar with Thomas, but they did not elaborate on whether she sent them the same kinds of messages about overturning the election that she did to Meadows in the period between the 2020 election and Jan. 6 insurrection.\u00a0
Rep. Andy Biggs<\/a>\"\"Andy Biggs<\/a>Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> GOP lawmakers turn Will Smith’s slap into anti-Biden memes<\/a> Will Smith’s Oscars slap sets off political, entertainment worlds<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (R-Ariz.), who was chair of the House Freedom Caucus at the time, told reporters that he could not remember if he had text messaged or emailed with Thomas, saying that their relationship was not very close.\u00a0
\u201cI may have talked to her one time, not anything specific,\u201d said Gohmert. The Washington Post reported that Thomas forwarded material to Meadows that she said she got from Gohmert\u2019s chief of staff.
Roy called Thomas a \u201cdear friend,\u201d but he ultimately took a far different attitude toward the Stop the Steal efforts than she did by objecting to seating House members from states with election disputes. It was a statement on Roy\u2019s part to criticize a plan by his colleagues to object to certifying the Electoral College results.\u00a0
\u201cI’m not going to characterize whatever private conversations I’ve had with Ginni,\u201d Roy said. He added that Thomas \u201chas engaged in defense of her country for years,\u201d criticizing calls for her husband to be impeached.
While some on the Jan. 6 committee refused to comment on Thomas, others have been open about a need to hear from her.
\u201cWe’ve interviewed more than 750 people, and we want to hear from everybody who has something to say. And she obviously interacted frequently with the president’s chief of staff and was actively involved with the effort to overturn the election. So speaking as one member, I think it’s important that we hear from her,\u201d Rep. Jamie Raskin<\/a>\"\"Jamin (Jamie) Ben Raskin<\/a>Defense & National Security \u2014 Officials skeptical Russia reducing military campaign<\/a> Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Raskin ‘very curious’ about reported gap in Trump phone records on Jan. 6<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (D-Md.) told reporters Monday.
Raskin pushed back on Republican arguments minimizing her activism.\u00a0
\u201cWell, you know, look, she has as much First Amendment right as anybody else in the country to advance her political views, but she has no more right than anybody else in the country to engage in coups and insurrections, so I’m interested in exactly what she was doing,\u201d he said.
In Clarence Thomas\u2019s three decades on the bench, he has never stepped aside from a case due to a real or perceived conflict of interest resulting from his wife\u2019s political activities.
He declined to recuse himself from numerous pro-Trump legal challenges that contested the 2020 results. And earlier this year, he cast the lone dissenting vote from a Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for the Jan. 6 panel to obtain Trump White House records.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a>\"\"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a>Ocasio-Cortez: Lack of Latino representation ‘really disgraceful’<\/a> Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> Ocasio-Cortez to Clarence Thomas: Resign or face impeachment<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (D-N.Y.) was the latest lawmaker Tuesday morning to call for his impeachment, while another 22 progressive lawmakers issued a letter calling for him to recuse himself from any Jan. 6 cases.
But Republicans have argued that the Thomases’ work can be separate.
\u201cWe were told, despite Ruth Bader Ginsburg<\/a>\"\"Ruth Bader Ginsburg<\/a>Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0<\/a> House passes bill to honor Ginsburg and O’Connor with Capitol statues<\/a> Ex-Georgetown coach dishes on the best tennis players on Supreme Court<\/a> MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>‘s husband \u2014 his activities, that it was absolutely wrong to presume the feelings of a spouse on to a justice,\u201d Gohmert told The Hill.
\u201cAnd so, I think what we’re seeing is absolute hypocrisy from those who are calling for his impeachment. I think it will do tremendous damage to the advances of women. Because it’s saying if you’re a conservative woman, you got to be back in the kitchen barefoot.\u201d
Biggs likewise called her \u201can independent person.\u201d\u00a0
\u201cShe’s living her life. She has her opinions,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don’t necessarily coincide in his opinions. There’s no indication that they have any influence on Justice Thomas at all.\u201d
View the discussion thread.<\/a>
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© 1998-2022 Nexstar Media Inc. All Rights Reserved Ginni Thomas’s text messages to former White House chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark MeadowsJared Kushner expected to sit for interview with Jan. 6 panel this week: reports Ginni Thomas texts leave GOP lawmakers scrambling\u00a0 Schumer says Thomas should recuse himself MORE leading up to the Jan. 6, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3106"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}