The House committee investigating the Capitol riot requested an interview with Virginia Thomas, wife of conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The committee’s request follows reports that Mrs. Thomas exchanged text messages with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that encouraged him to fight to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
The Democratic-led panel’s request for an interview was confirmed Monday by The Washington Post.
Mrs. Thomas, a conservative activist, exchanged 29 texts with Mr. Meadows, who was held in criminal contempt in December over his refusal to comply with the committee’s investigation.
Mrs. Thomas reportedly advocated for right-wing lawyer Sidney Powell to lead the efforts to overturn the election results in favor of Mr. Trump.
The reports of Mrs. Thomas and Mr. Meadows’s exchanges have prompted calls from Democratic lawmakers to urge Mr. Thomas to recuse himself from all Supreme Court cases connected to the 2020 election.
The House panel, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, will meet Monday night to vote on criminal referrals for former Trump aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, leads the committee.
Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois are the two Republicans to sit on the panel.
The two GOP lawmakers are among the most vocal anti-Trump members of the party conference.
