Attorney for Ginni Thomas questions need to testify in front of House Jan. 6 committee

June 29 (UPI) -- An attorney for Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told the House Jan. 6 Committee that it has "no basis" to interview her and needs "better justification" to agree to do so.

Thomas's emails to former President Donald Trump's legal counsel John Eastman after the 2020 presidential election caught the committee's attention. Thomas also emailed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows supporting the overturning of the election.

"Mrs. Thomas is eager to clear her name and is willing to appear before the Committee to do so," attorney Mark R. Paoletta wrote in the letter, according to NBC News. "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.

"Before I can recommend that she meet with you, I am asking the Committee to provide a better justification for why Mrs. Thomas's testimony is relevant to the Committee's legislative purpose."

Rep. Bennie Thomas, the House Jan. 6 committee chair, said last week that while he is expecting Thomas to appear, the committee has not agreed on "the parameters" of the interview.

Paoletta charged that Thomas and her husband, one of the most conservative justices on the Supreme Court, has been subjected to death threats "and other abuses."

He said emails and documents between Ginni Thomas and Eastman show no coordination between the two and do not rise to a level that they should be included in the investigation.