MADISON, Wis. – The wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has contacted at least two Wisconsin lawmakers, including the chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, urging them to revoke President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election in the hotly contested state, emails obtained Thursday by The Associated Press show.
Virginia “Ginny” Thomas, a conservative activist, had also sent messages to more than two dozen Arizona lawmakers.
In communications with lawmakers in both states, Thomas urged Republicans to choose their own list of voters after the election, arguing that the results giving Biden a win in the states were marred by fraud. Despite numerous reviews, lawsuits and recounts, no widespread fraud has been found in any of the states to call the results into question.
The emails, received at exactly the same time on Nov. 9, 2020, by Wisconsin state Sen. Kathy Bernier and state Rep. Gary Tauchen were first reported Thursday by The Washington Post. The AP obtained the email from Bernier, and the watchdog group Documented published the email obtained by Tauchen.
The emails were sent around the same time as the ones Thomas sent to Arizona lawmakers.
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Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment made to the court on Thursday.
Bernier, in a telephone interview with the AP, said she did not recall receiving the email from Thomas, which was one of thousands her office and other Wisconsin lawmakers received at the time. The message was sent through the FreeRoots platform, which allows mass sending of pre-written emails. Bernier said she had no contact with Thomas other than receiving the email.
“Please be strong in the face of political and media pressure,” Thomas wrote in emails obtained by Wisconsin lawmakers. “Please consider the awesome powers given to you by our constitution. And then please take action to ensure that clean electors are elected for our state.
Bernier said Thursday that she did not blame Thomas for sending the message, which she did not recall reading at the time.
“Ginni is not a constituent, so it’s not a top priority for a response,” Bernier said. “And that’s why I’m sure we didn’t answer her.”
Bernier, who has been outspoken in saying there was no widespread voter fraud in the Wisconsin election, which Biden fairly won, said she had no problem with Thomas contacting her about the election.
“I don’t believe it’s the crazy stuff that everyone is making it out to be,” she said of Thomas’ email. “There were a lot of Republicans at the time who thought there was massive voter fraud. … I’m sure she’d rather have it back, especially after all the evidence.
Tauchen declined to comment through a spokesman.
Clarence Thomas was the only member of the Supreme Court to vote against the court’s order allowing the US House committee to investigate The Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021acquire Trump records which are kept by the National Archives and Records Administration. The court voted in January to allow the commission to obtain the documents.
Ginny Thomas’ role in the plot to overturn the 2020 election, won by Biden, is being examined by members of the House committee investigating the riot. The commission invited her to appear for an interview in June.
Associated Press writer Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.
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