PHOENIX — Ginni Thomas, the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, emailed two prominent Arizona lawmakers in the days after the 2020 election, urging them to block Joe Biden's victory in the state.
The emails were sent to Republican House Speaker Rusty Bowers and GOP State Rep. Shawnna Bolick of Phoenix, who served on the House Elections Committee.
The emails were obtained through a public records request by the Washington Post and published in a story Friday.
12 News has since obtained the same emails.
The emails add to the volumes of evidence of the post-election pressure campaign on Republican officeholders to overturn Arizona's election results. That campaign included calls from President Donald Trump.
Ginni Thomas' efforts to toss out the 2020 results extended all the way to the White House, according to text messages she sent to Trump's chief of staff.
Bowers never responded to the Ginni Thomas emails.
Bowers spokesman Andrew Wilder provided this statement:
"The emails appear to have been among the hundreds of thousands of messages sent to the Speaker’s office during that period. Speaker Bowers did not see, much less read, the vast majority of those messages, including the form email sent by Mrs. Thomas."
Bowers' refusal to act on election deniers' calls to take action resulted in protests outside his home and a failed recall campaign.
Last month, Bowers was honored with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for defending democracy.
Bolick, on the other hand, was involved in efforts to toss out Arizona's vote.
Her role is significant: She is running in the Republican primary for secretary of state, Arizona's top elections official.
Bolick is married to Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick, who counts Clarence Thomas as one of his mentors.
Thomas is also a godfather to one of the Bolicks' children.
In the wake of the 2020 election:
-Bolick was one of 20 Republican legislators who signed a resolution a month after the election calling on Congress to either accept Arizona's 11 Trump electors or nullify the state's electoral votes for Biden.
-Bolick introduced a bill that would have allowed the Legislature to throw out the secretary of state's certification of presidential electors "at any time before the inauguration."
The Ginni Thomas emails to Bolick and Bowers were sent from an account used for mass emails, according to the Post.
This email to both lawmakers was sent Nov. 9, less than a week after the election:
"Article II of the United States Constitution gives you an awesome responsibility: to choose our state's Electors. This means you have the power to fight back against fraud and ensure our elections are free, fair and honest... Please stand strong in the face of media and political pressure ... Please take action to ensure that a clean slate of Electors is chosen."
Thomas also requested a meeting.
Bolick responded:
"Dear Ginni: First, I hope you and Clarence are doing great!"
The mail adds boilerplate information on how to file an elections complaint.
Bolick concludes:
"That is the most productive thing we can do as lawsuits work their way through the courts. From there we will see our best options moving forward to protect the integrity of the election."
Thomas replied:
"Fun that this came to you! Just part of our campaign to help states feel America's eyes!!!"
Shawnna Bolick responded Friday via Twitter: "The dishonest media wants to distract attention from election fraud & our efforts to secure elections." She included the email exchange with Thomas.
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