Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist married to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, repeatedly pressed the White House chief of staff to then-president Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Thomas urgently texted Meadows in the critical weeks that followed the vote, pressing him to pursue unrelenting efforts.
Copies of the messages were obtained by CBS News and the Washington Post. The exchange had 29 total messages in total and revealed an extraordinary pipeline between Thomas and the top Trump aide during a period in which Trump and his closest allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to change the election results.
The messages do not directly reference her husband, Justice Thomas, or the Supreme Court. But they do show that Thomas used her access to Trump’s inner circle to encourage and seek to guide Trump’s strategy to overturn the election. It also showed how receptive and grateful Meadows said that he was to receive advice from Thomas.
Among the stated goals in the messages included a strategy for the lawyer Sidney Powell, who promoted unsupported claims about the election, to become “the lead and the face” of Trump’s legal team.
The text messages showed Thomas calling President Joe Biden’s win a “heist.” Thomas told Meadows to “release the Kraken” and “help this great president stand firm.”
It is part of the evidence that is going to the House select committee that is investigating the January 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol. The information comes weeks after a court filing from the House panel argued that Trump and his campaign engaged in a “criminal conspiracy” to overturn the election.
Meadows provided 2,320 text messages to the select committee. The messages between Meadows and Thomas have not previously been reported. They were confirmed by five people who saw the committee’s documents.
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