In a significant reversal that will further intensify conflicts within the Republican Party and the ruling class as a whole, late Wednesday night it was reported that Virginia Thomas, 65, wife of arch-conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has agreed to testify before the January 6 House Select Committee.
Thomas’ attorney Mark Paoletta had previously rebuffed the committee’s request to speak to Thomas, writing in a June 28 letter to the congressional body that he did “not believe there is currently a sufficient basis” for Thomas to appear.
Thomas has previously attacked the committee and called on Republicans to oust any members of their party who participate in it.
However, late Wednesday night, CNN reported that a “source close to the committee” informed their reporters that Thomas, a life-long Republican operative, deeply implicated in former President Donald Trump’s failed coup, had agreed “to be interviewed by the panel in the coming weeks.”
In a statement sent to CNN and other major news networks, Paoletta confirmed the report, writing: “As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas is eager to answer the Committee’s questions to clear up any misconceptions about her work relating to the 2020 election. She looks forward to that opportunity.”
The day before Thomas’ lawyer confirmed she would speak before Congress, chairman of the committee Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) confirmed that the next hearing of the committee will be on September 28 at 1 p.m.
By choosing to hold the hearing on a Wednesday afternoon, the committee is ensuring that whatever revelations they are willing to disclose will not be seen by a mass audience of people who will be at work at that time. This is part of the committee’s efforts to keep the working class unaware of the advanced fascist rot that has permeated all levels of the federal government and a majority of the Republican Party who have and continue to support Trump’s efforts to establish a dictatorship.
A September 14 report from statesuniteddemocracy.org found that in at least three states, Alabama, Arizona and Michigan, Republicans running for governor, attorney general and secretary of state have backed Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that Biden is illegitimate.
In the 2022 midterms voters will be forced to choose between a Democrat or an “election denier” in half of the races for governor, 44 percent of secretary of state races and 10 out of 30 attorney general races, per the report.
Speaking to reporters in Washington D.C. on Tuesday about next week’s hearing, Thompson said that “unless something else develops, this hearing at this point is the final hearing. But it’s not in stone because things happen.”
In line with the committee’s efforts to obfuscate the broad support Trump’s coup had and retains within the ruling class and the US government as a whole, including in the Supreme Court, in a video interview published by Politico Thompson said that the last hearing “will focus on the fact that former President Trump knew he had lost, he was told by a number of people that he had lost and just continued to promote the lie that the election had been stolen.”
The committee chairman was asked about his vice-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), an ultra-conservative war hawk who voted with Trump 93 percent of the time while he was president, losing her primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate.
Thompson described Cheney as “a principled person,” who “put democracy above politics.” Heaping praise on the right-wing politician, he added, “If we had more people like her, our country would be far better off.”
Thomas’ decision to appear before the committee is the latest in a series of setbacks for the aspiring dictator Trump. Following the unprecedented FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound last month, the Justice Department leaked to press outlets that it has subpoenaed over 40 of Trump’s allies, including high-level advisors, such as former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, concerning their efforts to keep Trump in power.
On Wednesday, New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced a hefty $250 million civil suit against Trump, the Trump Organization and three of his adult children, accusing the family and the company of committing multiple crimes including tax and insurance fraud. James said she had referred evidence of criminal charges to the IRS and the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Last month, Trump’s consigliere, Allen Weisselberg, an employee for over four decades, including as chief financial officer of the Trump organization, pleaded guilty to 15 criminal charges, including engaging in a criminal conspiracy, fraud and grand larceny.
As part of his plea agreement, Weisselberg must pay nearly $2 million in back taxes and testify in court on his role within the organization. Weisselberg is expected to serve only five months in prison, but his sentencing will not take place until after he testifies.
While Trump himself has yet to be publicly charged with any crimes for trying to overthrow the government, some of his endorsed candidates, such as Michigan Republican candidate for state attorney general Matthew DePerno, are currently facing criminal charges for trying to help their leader in his scheme to remain in power despite losing the election.
DePerno and eight other Trump-allies, including Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, are facing felony charges for tampering with voting machines.
On Thursday, CNN reported on a series of emails they had obtained through a public records request, which revealed that on March 17, 2021, DePerno personally sent a subpoena to an election clerk in Barry County, Michigan, demanding to have access to “voting equipment, election tapes, logs—and ballots, which had been sealed and stored after the election.”
CNN said at least eight county clerks in Michigan received subpoenas from DePerno, all of which were rejected by a judge.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism