Politics

Wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas texted Trump chief about overturning 2020 election

Key Points
  • The Washington Post/CBS News and CNN obtained copies of 29 texts between former President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows and Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
  • Thomas urged Meadows in a series of text messages sent shortly after the 2020 election to work to overturn President Joe Biden's victory, the Post reported.
  • The texts were reportedly among the more than 2,000 messages Meadows gave to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by a mob of Trump's supporters.
Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sits with his wife and conservative activist Virginia Thomas while he waits to speak at the Heritage Foundation on October 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images

Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in 2020 urged then-President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows to work to overturn President Joe Biden's victory in a series of text messages sent shortly after the election, a person familiar with the investigation confirmed to NBC News.

The news was first reported by the Washington Post/CBS News and CNN.

A cache of 29 text messages, copies of which were obtained by The Washington Post/CBS News and CNN, shows a frantic dialogue between Thomas, a conservative activist who goes by Ginni, and the top White House aide in the wake of Trump's loss.

After news outlets projected Biden the winner of the 2020 election, Thomas on Nov. 10 reportedly wrote 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."

On Nov. 24, Meadows reportedly texted Thomas: "This is a fight of good versus evil ... 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."

The text messages do not directly mention Clarence Thomas, a staunch conservative who is the longest-serving member of the current the Supreme Court, according to the Washington Post and CBS.

But Ginni Thomas had texted Meadows that she wanted Sidney Powell — the pro-Trump lawyer who had filed failed lawsuits challenging the 2020 results and was later sanctioned by a federal judge — to be "the lead and the face" of Trump's legal team, the report said.

The 29 texts were reportedly among the more than 2,000 messages Meadows gave to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by a mob of Trump's supporters.

George Terwilliger, an attorney for Meadows, did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the texts. A spokesman for the Jan. 6 probe did not immediately provide comment.

The texts were revealed days after the Supreme Court revealed that Clarence Thomas, 73, had been hospitalized with an infection last Friday evening.

The court hasn't provided an update on Thomas' condition since Sunday, and didn't respond to multiple messages seeking comment earlier Thursday.