Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Liz Cheney says Jan 6 committee is considering subpoena for Ginni Thomas

Role of Thomas in Jan 6 has thrown her husband’s work at Supreme Court into doubt

John Bowden
Sunday 24 July 2022 16:13 BST
Comments
Pelosi says Ginni Thomas contributed to 'coup'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Jan 6 committee isn’t planning on taking “no” for an answer from Ginni Thomas, the conservative activist whose role in trying to help Donald Trump overturn the election has come into new focus in recent weeks thanks in no small part due to her marriage to a Supreme Court justice.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney indicated in an interview on Sunday that the select committee’s members were prepared to subpoena Ms Thomas should she continue to refuse to testify about her role in the Trump campaign’s bid to “decertify” electors in key battleground states over baseless claimes of fraud.

The panel is no stranger to issuing subpoenas to compel the testimony of Mr Trump’s allies and this week saw his former White House chief strategist convicted on a charge of criminal contempt for defying their order. Ms Thomas’s targeting would be significant, however, given that her husband Clarence Thomas has come under tough criticism as her role in the January 6 plot emerged given his involvement in ruling on a case determining whether White House communications should be turned over to the panel; Mr Thomas was the only dissenting vote.

"The committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena [for Ms Thomas],” Ms Cheney told CNN’s State of the Union hosted by Jake Tapper on Sunday.

“I hope it doesn’t get to that, I hope she does come in voluntarily, we’ve certainly spoken with numbers of people who are similarly situated in terms of the discussions she was having,” the congresswoman continued.

The panel concluded a set of public hearings this week that were punctuated by shocking and angering revelations about the Trump team’s knowledge of both the baselessness of their fraud claims as well as the likelihood that violence would break out on Jan 6 as a result of their actions. Chairman Bennie Thompson and Ms Cheney confirmed during their final hearing Thursday evening that a second set of public hearings based on new evidence that they were continuing to gather would take place in September.

The announcement means that Republicans can expect another round of brutal inquiry into the former president’s actions as well as those of some of their own members in the House and Senate beginning just two months before voters head to the polls for the midterm elections.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in