Liz Cheney has sought to avoid efforts that could ‘unfairly tarnish’ Clarence Thomas: report

On Friday, The New York Timesreported that the House January 6 Committee is unlikely to subpoena far-right activist Ginni Thomas over her contacts with White House officials strategizing to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

One reason, the report noted, is that a key Republican member of the committee, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), doesn't want to move the committee's work in a direction that will embarrass her husband, right-wing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"In the Thomases, the committee is up against a couple that has deep networks of support across the conservative movement and Washington, including inside the committee," reported Luke Broadwater, Jo Becker, Maggie Haberman, and Alan Feuer. "The panel’s Republican vice chairwoman, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, has led the charge in holding Mr. Trump to account for his efforts to overturn the election, but has wanted to avoid any aggressive effort that, in her view, could unfairly tarnish Justice Thomas, the senior member of the Supreme Court."

"Although a debate has broken out inside the committee about summoning Ms. Thomas to testify, the panel at this point has no plans to do so, leaving some Democrats frustrated," continued the report. "That could change, however: On Friday, despite the potential for political backlash, Ms. Cheney indicated she has no objection to the panel asking Ms. Thomas for a voluntary interview."

The revelations about his wife's activism have subjected Clarence Thomas to a fresh wave of scrutiny over his refusals to recuse from cases involving the election his wife was seeking to overturn