In yet another blow to a Supreme Court that has become increasingly politicized with plumetting approval ratings, the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and CBS’ Robert Costa published a bombshell: Virginia “Ginni” Thomas was actively pressing White House Chief of Staff to overturn the 2020 election results and put Donald Trump into power — way before January 6.
She has often been described as a conservative activist. The Woodward-Costa story reveals that she is actually a zealot, dabbler in conspiracy theories and on the same wavelength as Q-Anon. Here are some excerpts from the story which has this sub headline: “In messages to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in the weeks after Election Day, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called Biden’s victory ‘the greatest Heist of our History’ and told him that President Donald Trump should not concede.”
Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in a series of urgent text exchanges in the critical weeks after the vote, according to copies of the messages obtained by The Washington Post and CBS News.
The messages — 29 in all — reveal an extraordinary pipeline between Virginia Thomas, who goes by Ginni, and President Donald Trump’s top aide during a period when Trump and his allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to negate the election results.
I.e. it would go to a Supreme Court that included you-know-who, her husband.
On Nov. 10, after news organizations had projected Joe Biden the winner based on state vote totals, Thomas wrote to Meadows: “Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!…You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America’s constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.
When Meadows wrote to Thomas on Nov. 24, the White House chief of staff invoked God to describe the effort to overturn the election. “This is a fight of good versus evil,” Meadows wrote. “Evil always looks like the victor until the King of Kings triumphs. Do not grow weary in well doing. The fight continues. I have staked my career on it. Well at least my time in DC on it.”Thomas replied: “Thank you!! Needed that! This plus a conversation with my best friend just now… I will try to keep holding on. America is worth it!”
On Twitter several tweeters noted that Ginni Thomas always referred to her husband as her best friend.
It is unclear to whom Thomas was referring.
The messages, which do not directly reference Justice Thomas or the Supreme Court, show for the first time how Ginni Thomas used her access to Trump’s inner circle to promote and seek to guide the president’s strategy to overturn the election results — and how receptive and grateful Meadows said he was to receive her advice. Among Thomas’s stated goals in the messages was for lawyer Sidney Powell, who promoted incendiary and unsupported claims about the election, to be “the lead and the face” of Trump’s legal team.
The text messages were among 2,320 that Meadows provided to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The content of messages between Thomas and Meadows — 21 sent by her, eight by him – has not previously been reported. They were reviewed by The Post and CBS News and then confirmed by five people who have seen the committee’s document.
On social media there are calls for Thomas to resign from the court or, at least, be investigated.
"We don't want any activist judges," say Republicans, as one of their justices' wives conspired with the White House Chief of Staff to overturn a presidential election and that justice refuses to recuse himself from any cases on it.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) March 24, 2022
There were just a ton of very important Republicans actively trying to organize a coup.
Like, we all understand this, right? This wasn’t just some different flavor of normal politics. https://t.co/uCYMSGKF3m
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 24, 2022
Every element of the @GOP was involved in effort to end American democracy: WH, RNC, Senators. Members of Congress, their staffs, AG Association, key donors & now it touches the Supreme Court. Don’t look away. They haven’t stopped. https://t.co/5eWk29vwMW
— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) March 24, 2022
The pieces start fitting together. https://t.co/3CtRmePAsG
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) March 25, 2022
Woodward and I both see this as an unprecedented entanglement between a top official in the Exec Branch and the spouse of a Justice.
They are privately discussing strategy, lawyers, managing WH staff, and conspiracy theories. @CBSNews @washingtonpost https://t.co/ch2JSUSviQ
— Robert Costa (@costareports) March 24, 2022
What we know so far… so many lingering questions on this story revealing a pipeline of communication between a justice’s spouse and the WH chief, all as the president was vowing to take the election fight to the Supreme Court… pic.twitter.com/5AatH0Zbu5
— Robert Costa (@costareports) March 24, 2022
The legitimacy of the Supreme Court was badly damaged today.
Clarence Thomas needs to resign.
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) March 25, 2022
Memo to Capitol Hill reporters: there should not be a single interview you do with a Republican member of the House or Senate that does not begin by asking about Ginni Thomas and Clarence Thomas.
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) March 24, 2022
I wonder what our legal academy friends would say. But how can Justice Thomas possibly review any January 6th related cases when his wife appears to have been part of the conspiracy?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 25, 2022
“The text traffic also suggests that Ms. Thomas was in contact with Jared Kushner, the former president’s son-in-law and adviser.” https://t.co/CCvy9YBUN4
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 25, 2022
The call continues coming from inside of the house: Clarence Thomas’s wife was texting Mark Meadows, urging him to help overthrow the 2020 election https://t.co/ISll2j6qyC
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) March 24, 2022
If Clarence Thomas thought his confirmation proceedings were difficult wait for his impeachment proceedings.
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) March 24, 2022
As New Yorker’s Jane Mayer notes , one of Ginni Thomas’ texts refers to talking with her “best friend”. That’s how she refers to her husband. That may throw the Thomas’ “we don’t talk about each other’s work” into doubt.. and pull fhe justice closer into this incredible story.
— Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) March 25, 2022
The wife of a Supreme Court justice appears to have beliefs indistinguishable from a QAnon follower. This is very, very bad. pic.twitter.com/J4g35jTktc
— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) March 25, 2022
Good time to recall that Ginni Thomas interviewed Ron DeSantis on video for the Daily Caller and bragged in a email that her husband had been in contact with him ‘on various issues’ @RonDeSantisFL
— NoelCaslerComedy (@caslernoel) March 24, 2022
Ginni Thomas was waaaaay worse than you thought.
Seriously.https://t.co/Z83tEYMd3t
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) March 24, 2022
The wife of a sitting Supreme Court justice told Trump’s chief of staff that Biden and his family would face military tribunals at Guantanamo for “ballot fraud.” https://t.co/Nyf2q1T9mo pic.twitter.com/G0OUzxvFAz
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) March 24, 2022
Just saw an ad for a local bank offering "free document shredding." Wondering if Ginny Thomas will be calling.
— Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) March 25, 2022
A SCOTUS justice's wife was an activist at the center of an effort to subvert an election and overthrow our govt. You'd think a.) her husband would immediately resign or b.) be investigated as to what he knew when & c.) she would be in deep trouble. AG? DoJ? Congress? Bueller?
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) March 25, 2022
How could Clarence Thomas be impartial and defend the constitution if his wife was working to destroy it?
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) March 25, 2022
This whole thread. My God. https://t.co/gwFYr4TFBE
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) March 24, 2022
It feels like a generational wave of political karma is about to come crashing down.
— Mike Madrid (@madrid_mike) March 24, 2022
What would you say if you saw it in another country? https://t.co/rSjYcWYFKG
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) March 25, 2022
Ginni Thomas can do whatever crazy things she wants. But Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas cannot rule on a case that would disclose the crazy things Ginni Thomas was doing. That was a clear conflict of interest. Justice Thomas once again dishonors the Supreme Court. https://t.co/Z3VdtWWpis
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 24, 2022
I’m sure if the spouse of a liberal justice has repeatedly texted a Democratic president’s chief of staff with pleas to help overturn an election, congressional Republicans wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, and definitely wouldn’t have articles of impeachment drawn up in hours.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) March 24, 2022
Ginni Thomas has learned her lesson.
By Susan Collins
— ???? ????? (@nagy_minaj) March 25, 2022
So it’s pretty clear…
Clarence Thomas:
– should have recused
– voted to protect his wife
– should now resign— Angry Staffer ? (@Angry_Staffer) March 25, 2022
This story demands a statement by Justice Thomas and the Supreme Court itself. A lifetime appointment does not allow for a spouse (or anyone) to attempt the overthrow of a free and fair election.
Shorter: What did Thomas know and when did he know it? #January6th https://t.co/slXFI8fpHD
— Reed Galen (@reedgalen) March 24, 2022
I've done a lot of stupid shit in my life but I never left a text message trail of my plans to do a coup
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) March 24, 2022
This is a real text that Ginni Thomas sent to Mark Meadows, shortly after the 2020 election. pic.twitter.com/JHooG5DyZI
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 24, 2022
The wife of a Supreme Court justice is a radical insurrectionist. Her husband has refused to recuse himself from any of the cases in which she has been deeply and actively involved. This is a scandal of immense proportions.
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) March 24, 2022
Chief Justice Roberts, I think you have a problem in your building.
— Jennifer 'I stand with Ukraine' Rubin ???? (@JRubinBlogger) March 24, 2022
Time to take #GinniThomas downtown for some questioning.
— howardfineman (@howardfineman) March 24, 2022
Yet more proof that Mark Meadows and Ginni Thomas are religious fanatics. Normal people do not speak in such dire terms ("at the precipice," "evil," "King of Kings") about Trump's pathetic and doomed election challenges. https://t.co/m3v2wi00lV pic.twitter.com/SZfMuu1gKO
— Matthew Sheffield (@mattsheffield) March 24, 2022
WHAT DID I SAY https://t.co/rzXXVcKhEl
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 24, 2022
Ginni Thomas pushed Sidney Powell's Kraken plan to have the 2020 election overturned by the Supreme Court—where her husband Clarence Thomas is a sitting justice.
This is jaw dropping.
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) March 24, 2022
In stark contrast: Jane Sullivan Roberts, wife of Chief Justice Roberts, sat next to me in the Senate gallery for a portion of Trump’s first impeachment trial. When I asked for her impression of the historic event, she said it would be inappropriate for her to comment. https://t.co/k8wDXdtrNP
— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) March 24, 2022
? If Ginni Thomas' "best friend" is her husband — not a huge leap — then these text messages suggest she was actively discussing overturning the 2020 election with Clarence Thomas, who later ruled in favor of Trump in cases involving the election. https://t.co/518K0fSTIy pic.twitter.com/MxGmvhNRYi
— Brett Edkins (@Brettkins) March 24, 2022
Interesting timing. Clarence Thomas gets sick a few days before Ginni’s conspiratorial text messages to Mark Meadows go public.
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) March 24, 2022
“Sounds like Sidney and her team are getting inundated with evidence of fraud. Make a plan. Release the Kraken and save us from the left taking America down.”–Ginny Thomas.https://t.co/A02a6fFobY
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) March 24, 2022
Maybe Thomas will re use himself on the next coup attempt. https://t.co/TKguIDlNfw
— Armando (@ArmandoNDK) March 24, 2022
For more discussion on this breaking story GO HERE.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.