While some members have raised the possibility of voluntarily inviting Thomas to appear before the panel, or raising the possibility of forcing his testimony by providing a sapona, there is little indication that the idea has so far taken a serious pull, the sources added.
Debates arose as to whether Thomas’ testimony would be directly relevant to their investigation and whether they should approach him directly.
Members weigh the political cost of calling such a key witness and the possibilities that the Supreme Court judge’s wife will not be able to co-operate or provide information on the optical end. They worry that she might create a conflict that could distract them from their overall work.
Both Judge Thomas and Ginny Thomas declined to comment on CNN’s questions on Friday.
“No thank you,” Judge Thomas said, wearing a blue button-down shirt and standing in his garage when CNN asked him to speak. Ginny Thomas left without comment.
Ginny Thomas came under scrutiny after CNN reported text messages he exchanged with former President Donald Trump’s CEO Mark Meadows between November 2020 and January 2021.
The 29 text messages between Thomas and Meadows, known to be in the group’s possession, show that he repeatedly pushed Trump’s top aide to continue the fight to defeat the 2020 election.
A select group spokesman did not comment specifically on Thomas but told CNN that the group had not refused to offer saponas to anyone.
“Lifelong social media lover. Falls down a lot. Creator. Devoted food aficionado. Explorer. Typical troublemaker.”