Ginni Thomas Was Worried Pence Would Concede Before Trump Was 'Ready'

Conservative activist Ginni Thomas saw indications that former Vice President Mike Pence would concede the 2020 presidential election before former President Donald Trump was ready to do so, according to a transcript of her interview with the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Though Thomas met with the committee in late September this year as it probed the Capitol riot, the transcript from the meeting was not released until Friday. During the interview, Thomas was asked about what she discussed with Paul Teller, the executive director of Pence's advocacy organization, in the post-election timeframe.

Thomas responded: "I don't remember any conversations that I had. I assumed—you know, I assumed he was interested in reporting back to the Vice President on how various people felt. And I felt like there might have been a division happening between President Trump and Vice President Pence."

When asked why she felt like there was a division between the two, Thomas said that she hoped Pence "would have sounded less likely to concede."

"I think I picked up vibes that he was likely to concede prematurely, in my opinion, before the fraud and irregularity could be investigated and found out," Thomas said.

She believes the "vibes" stemmed from the fact that she "didn't hear [Pence] talking about fraud and irregularity at the States the way that the President was."

"And so it was just I was probably surmising, but there was a distance. I'm guessing," Thomas added.

Unlike Trump, who continues to promote unproven claims of election fraud in 2020, Pence has declared Joe Biden the winner. He certified the election results on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the election certification.

Thomas, who is married to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has been the subject of scrutiny and backlash in recent months for her activities surrounding the 2020 election. This includes texting former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, urging him to push back against Biden's election win, and reportedly pressing lawmakers in battleground states to "choose" their own presidential electors while ignoring Biden's popular-vote victory.

Clarence Thomas has faced impeachment and resignation calls over his wife's alleged actions surrounding the election. He has also been urged to recuse himself from cases related to January 6.

Ginni Thomas said in a statement she read at the start of her January 6 interview that her activities regarding the election were "minimal and mainstream," and that she did not speak with her husband at all about the details of her post-election activities.

"I am certain I never spoke with him about any of the legal challenges to the 2020 election, as I was not involved in those challenges in any way," Thomas said. "Let me also add, it's laughable for anyone who knows my husband to think I could influence his jurisprudence."

After Thomas met with the committee in September, the panel's chair, Representative Bennie Thompson said Thomas reiterated her belief that the 2020 election was stolen.

Notably, Thomas was asked about a text message she sent to Meadows referring to a conversation she had with her "best friend" and how she would try to keep "holding on." Thomas revealed that she was likely referring to her husband as her "best friend" but said that she could not remember the specifics of what he told her that spurred her to say she would keep "holding on" in the post-election timeframe.

A statement regarding the release of the interview transcript shared on Twitter on Friday by Thomas' lawyer, Mark Paoletta, noted that she is not mentioned at all in the House committee's final report and was not featured in any public hearings.

"This is unsurprising, as the facts and this transcript demonstrate that Mrs. Thomas' post-election activities were minimal and mainstream, and the Committee had no legitimate reason to interview her," the statement read, in part.

Newsweek reached out to Pence for comment.

Update 1/3/23, 4:45 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a statement from Thomas' lawyer.