Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, appears open to speaking with the committee, telling conservative outlet The Daily Caller that she “can’t wait to clear up misconceptions.”
“I look forward to talking to them,” she said in the interview published Thursday.
The source who spoke with CNN would not provide details on the emails’ contents or say if they were direct messages between the two or part of a larger group correspondence. A separate source said the emails were part of a tranche of messages provided to the committee after a federal judge ruled that Eastman’s correspondence was pertinent to the committee’s work investigating former President Donald Trump and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the months leading up to January 6, 2021.
Thomas has received criticism over her political activism and involvement in efforts to push claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. She previously admitted that she had attended the rally that preceded the violent attack on the US Capitol on January 6, but left early. Some progressives and some legal ethics experts see her activism as a conflict of interest for her husband, who serves on the nation’s highest court.
Previously revealed text messages between Thomas and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, obtained by the committee, showed that Thomas regularly checked in with Meadows to encourage him to push claims of voter fraud and work to prevent the election from being certified.
Thompson on Thursday dismissed Justice Department complaints that the House committee release all of its transcripts to help with the department’s investigation, saying it would turn over transcripts to the department “in due time.”
“We are not going to stop what we are doing to share the information that we’ve gotten so far with the Department of Justice. We have to do our work,” he said.
Asked if the panel would be doing so by the end of the week, the congressman responded “No,” but added, “That does not mean that we are not going to cooperate.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the committee, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” Thursday evening that part of the issue is the breadth of what the Justice Department is requesting.
“I’ve been involved in several high-profile investigations, I’ve never seen the Justice Department say, ‘Give us all your files,’ ” the California Democrat said. “I think the challenge is the breadth of their request, but we’re going to work through it and make sure they get what they need.”
“We’re working with them to make sure they get what they need, consistent with our own investigative needs,” Schiff said. “We want them to be successful. We want them to bring to justice anyone who broke the law, and we’re confident we will be able to help them pursue any of the lawbreakers involved.”
This story has been updated with further developments Thursday.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Lauren Koenig, Morgan Rimmer and Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
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