The attorney representing Virginia Thomas has told the January 6 Select Committee that he has “serious concerns” about any interview the panel would conduct with her.
Attorney Mark Paoletta sent an 8-page letter dated Tuesday to Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, outlining his reluctance to recommend that Mrs. Clarence Thomas speak to investigators.
Paoletta noted it was a “particularly stressful time as the Thomases have been subjected to an avalanche of death threats and other abuse.”
“As she has already indicated, Mrs. Thomas is eager to clear her name and is willing to appear before the Committee to do so,” he wrote. “However, based on my understanding of the communications that spurred the Committee’s request, I do not understand the need to speak with Mrs. Thomas.”
- Regarding Ginni’s invite to John Eastman to speak to a group of activists, Paoletta said, “It is not an endorsement of the speaker’s views, nor is it any indication of a working relationship between the speaker and Mrs. Thomas. In fact, Mrs. Thomas often does not share the views of those invited leaders or activists.”
- Paoletta denied that Ginni and Eastman discussed Supreme Court strategies, and said texts to Mark Meadows were unremarkable. “She was simply texting with a friend.”
- Paoletta described various criticisms by Democrats of previous elections, including quotes of objections from Jamie Raskin, Stacey Abrams, and a then-Senator Barack Obama in 2004.
- The letter also included quotes that Bennie Thompson has made about Clarence Thomas, including, in 2014, that he “doesn’t like Black people, doesn’t like being Black.”
