Updated September 21, 2022 at 9:30 PM ET
Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has agreed to speak to the House select committee leading the probe into the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The agreement has been confirmed by an attorney for Ginni Thomas and a source familiar with the committee's discussions who was not authorized to speak on the record.
The plan to interview Thomas was announced shortly after the committee confirmed it will hold another public hearing next Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Committee members have previously suggested that any interview with Thomas might be held behind closed doors. And with the panel aiming to hold their last investigative presentation next week, it's possible they could speak with her after that date.
The committee had asked to interview Thomas about her communications with lawyer John Eastman, who was part of a campaign pushing then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the 2020 election results during Congress' count of the Electoral College votes.
Her attorney Mark Paoletta released a written statement saying, "I can confirm that Ginni Thomas has agreed to participate in a voluntary interview with the Committee. As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas is eager to answer the Committee's questions to clear up any misconceptions about her work relating to the 2020 election. She looks forward to that opportunity."
The next hearing could wrap up the panel's public presentations
That session is now set for next week on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m. ET. This comes after the panel wrapped up blockbuster hearings earlier this summer focused on former President Donald Trump's role in the siege.
Committee members have said the hearing will cover new evidence that the panel has not yet shared with the public.
California Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar, a member of the panel, said it could cover new evidence relating to Pence.
"There's new information that we've received since our hearings that is helpful to our investigation and we look forward to sharing what's appropriate," Aguilar told NPR. "We still feel ... it would make the most sense for the former vice president come speak with us and we're still hopeful that that can happen. But we feel there's information still worth sharing and we plan to do that next week."
Politico first reported that Pence could figure largely in next week's hearing.
The panel had previously been in talks with Pence's team to appear before the panel, but for months had not secured a deal for his testimony.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson earlier on Wednesday told reporters that the hearing will be similar in length to previous hearings.
"It will probably be about two hours like the others and each member will have an appropriate role in the process," Thompson said.
Thompson has previously predicted the panel will release a final report by year end and is weighing whether to release an interim report in the meantime.
A landmark in the committee's work
Another committee member, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., described the member participation for next week's hearing as "an all hands on deck effort."
"People can expect to see new findings that we have come into possession of since we suspended over a month ago," Raskin told reporters on Wednesday.
Raskin added that members of the panel are preparing for the hearing but also focused on the report they will release about their investigation.
"Fundamentally our job is to deliver a report to Congress and to the American people about the nature of this, an attack on our democracy and why it happened and what we need to do to fortify ourselves against [in the] future," he said.
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