Published October 20, 2010

Ginni Thomas canceled her appearance on NPR’s and WBUR’s On Point — scheduled a week in advance — at the last minute. The interview would have lasted 20 minutes and aired nationally. Thomas’ publicist said she had a “scheduling conflict.”

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with his wife, Virginia Thomas, in November 2007 (Charles Dharapak/AP)

“I’m horribly, horribly sorry,” the publicist said in an e-mail.

The producers “worked tirelessly” to book Thomas for a conversation about her very public involvement in the Tea Party, said John Wihbey, a producer.

But yesterday we learned that Thomas left a voice-mail message last week for Anita Hill, the Brandeis University professor, asking Hill to apologize to her husband for accusing him of sexual harassment almost 20 years ago. Hill, thinking it was a prank, forwarded the message to campus security, which turned it over to the FBI. Thomas confirmed to NPR that she left that message.

Here is a transcript of the message, first provided by ABC News, left 7:31 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9:

Good morning, Anita Hill, it’s Ginny Thomas. I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day.

It’s a head-scratcher.

Hill declined WBUR’s request for an interview but provided a brief statement:

I certainly thought the call was inappropriate. I have no intention of apologizing because I testified truthfully about my experience and I stand by that testimony.

Economist Robert Reich pinch hits in On Point’s first hour today.