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Ginni Thomas

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Ginni Thomas
Thomas in 2017
Born
Virginia Lamp

(1957-02-23) February 23, 1957 (age 67)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationCreighton University (BA, JD)
Occupation(s)Attorney, public-policy analyst, political activist, lobbyist
Employer(s)The Daily Caller
Heritage Foundation
Liberty Central
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1987)​

Virginia "Ginni" Lamp Thomas (born February 23, 1957), is an American attorney and lobbyist who founded Liberty Consulting. She had previously founded the conservative advocacy group Liberty Central, and served as its president until its merger with the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty.[1] She writes columns for The Daily Caller and previously worked at The Heritage Foundation. She is married to U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Her lobbying activities have been raised as a potential source of conflict of interest for her husband.[2][3]

Early life and education

Thomas grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, the youngest of four children born to Donald Lamp, a successful engineer who owned his own firm, and Marjorie Lamp, a stay-at-home mother.[4][5][6] Her parents were Republicans.[5]

Thomas attended Westside High School in Omaha, where she was a member of the student government, the debate club, and the Republican club.[5] While she was still in high school, her ambition was to be a member of Congress.[6] She enrolled in a woman's college in Virginia because of its proximity to Washington, D.C., subsequently transferred to the University of Nebraska, and then to Creighton University to be closer to a boyfriend.[6] She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Business Communication from Creighton University (1979) and a Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law (1983), after a hiatus working as a legislative aide for Congressman Hal Daub.[5][6][7]

Career

1981–1995

When Congressman Daub took office in 1981, Thomas moved to Washington, D.C., and worked in his office for 18 months.[4][5][6] After completing her degree at Creighton University School of Law (1983), she worked one more year for Daub in Washington as his Legislative Director.[6] From 1985 to 1989, she was employed as an attorney and labor relations specialist at the United States Chamber of Commerce,[5][8][9] attending congressional hearings where she lobbied on behalf of the interests of the business community.[5] Her advocacy included arguing against the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires larger employers to provide temporary unpaid leave to employees to care for a new child or during a serious personal or family illness.[10] In 1989, she became Manager of Employee Relations at the Chamber of Commerce.[11]

1991–2009

Virginia Thomas at her husband's swearing in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

In 1991, Thomas returned to government service in the Legislative Affairs Office of the United States Department of Labor,[12][13][14] where she argued against comparable-worth legislation that would have mandated equal pay for women and men in jobs deemed to be comparable.[15][16]

That year, her husband, Clarence Thomas, was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to fill the open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court left by the retirement of Justice Thurgood Marshall.[17] She attended the contentious Senate confirmation hearings and stood by her husband as he was accused of sexual harassment.[18]

During the confirmation hearings, several Democratic Senators claimed that her job with the Labor Department might create a conflict of interest for her husband if he was seated on the Supreme Court.[19] After her husband was narrowly confirmed by a majority vote of 52 to 48,[20] Mrs. Thomas described the televised scrutiny and confirmation process as a "trial by fire".[21][22]

Her next job was as a Policy Analyst for Congressman Dick Armey, who was then the Republican House Conference Chairman. In 1994, conflict of interest was raised again[clarification needed] while Thomas was working for Armey.[23][24]

By 2000, she was working for the Heritage Foundation. Conflict of interest was raised yet again because she was collecting résumés for potential Presidential appointments in the George W. Bush Administration when the Supreme Court was deciding Bush v. Gore.[25][26] She continued to work at the Heritage Foundation during the administration of George W. Bush, serving as the White House Liaison for the think tank.[27]

2009–present

In late 2009, Thomas started a nonprofit lobbying group, Liberty Central, to organize conservative activists, issue score cards for Congress members, and be involved in elections.[28] The group is aimed at opposing what Thomas has called the leftist "tyranny" of President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats and "protecting the core founding principles" of the nation.[29] Thomas was interviewed by Sean Hannity on his Fox News show Hannity in June 2010. When asked about potential conflicts between her Liberty Central activities and her husband's position, Thomas replied, "there's a lot of judicial wives and husbands out there causing trouble. I'm just one of many."[30]

In February 2011, Politico reported that Thomas was the head of a new company, Liberty Consulting, which filed incorporation papers in mid-November 2010. The company's website states that clients can use Thomas's "experience and connections" to help "with "governmental affairs efforts" and political donation strategies.[31] The Washington Post described Liberty Consulting as "a one-woman shop" where Thomas advised political donors how to direct funds in the post-Citizens United landscape.[32]

In July 2013, Thomas was identified as a key member of Groundswell, a coalition of right-wing activists and journalists attempting to make political change behind the scenes through lobbying of high-level contacts.[33]

Thomas endorsed Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican primaries.[32] After Cruz dropped out, she supported Donald Trump.[32]

Thomas has served on the advisory council of Turning Point USA.[34][35]

Thomas has stirred controversy due to her inflammatory political rhetoric and promotion of conspiracy theories. In 2018, she shared Facebook posts that characterized California as a war zone, alleged voter fraud by Democrats in four elections, described the teenage survivors of the Parkland shooting "dangerous to the survival of our nation" (because they advocated for gun control) and accused President Obama and Hillary Clinton of being involved in wiretapping then-candidate Donald Trump. In 2017, she held a speech saying the left wants "to extinguish our rights," that the left "moves its forces across our country," and that the NFL was "mainstreaming anti-Americanism" because some NFL players kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial discrimination. She harshly criticized Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell as "useful idiots" for "LiberalFascists" because they did not condemn violence on the left during the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. She has made videos for the Daily Caller where she wondered whether "cultural Marxists have already won in our country."[32]

On February 23, 2020, Axios reported that right-wing activists had compiled the names of individuals who were deemed to be disloyal to President Donald Trump into a list. As the leading figure in a right-wing network that works to recommend people as staffers at the White House, the article stated that Thomas had been advising Trump to purge the "snakes" who were disloyal to him from the government. It was revealed that she had sent a memo to Trump directly in the preceding year and a personnel office for the president had deemed some of her suggestions to be inappropriate candidates as White House faculty. After Trump was acquitted by Senate in his trial of impeachment, it was alleged that Trump would revisit some of her recommendations in subsequent pursuit of vengeance against those who testified against him throughout his impeachment.[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]

On May 28, 2020, Trump appointed Thomas as a member of the trust fund board of the Library of Congress.[44][45]

In October 2020, shortly before the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Thomas advanced the conspiracy theory via social media that George Soros "is really running the Democratic Party." Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, and The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that "Republican officials and activists, as well as far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists, regularly assert with scant or no evidence that he is secretly funding, or in control of, a broad array of liberal causes, or otherwise out to undermine the United States government." And, that "[t]he idea that rich Jews are conspiring to secretly control world leaders is an age-old anti-Semitic stereotype."[46][47][48]

In January 2021, Thomas took to Facebook to cheer the 'Save America March' that preceded the storming of the U.S. Capitol building.[49][50] The Washington Post reported that after the violence and deaths resulting from the storming of the U.S. Capitol, Thomas, on a private email listserv called "Thomas Clerk World," expressed her wish to apologize for contributing to the rift among a group of former clerks of her husband, Clarence Thomas.[51] The internal rift reportedly concerned "pro-Trump postings and former Thomas clerk John Eastman, who spoke at the rally and represented Trump in some of his failed lawsuits filed to overturn the election results."[51]

Personal life

Virginia and Clarence Thomas married in 1987.[52] They live in Virginia.[53]

Thomas converted from Protestantism to the Catholic faith in 2002. She was inspired by her husband's devotion of praying the Litany of Humility and participating in the Mass. She credits Justice Antonin Scalia, and his wife Maureen, for their love, praying Clarence Thomas back into the Church.[54]

On October 9, 2010, Thomas left a voicemail message for Anita Hill, whose accusations of sexual harassment complicated her husband's Senate confirmation hearings 19 years earlier.[55][56] In the voicemail, Thomas said that Hill should apologize to Thomas's husband. Hill responded that there was nothing to apologize for and said that her 1991 testimony about her interactions with Clarence Thomas was truthful.[55]

Between 2003 and 2007, Thomas earned $686,589 from the Heritage Foundation.[57] Thomas was paid $120,000 in 2010 by Liberty Central, a now-defunct 501(c)(4) group whose Board of Directors included Leonard Leo and current chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp.[58] This income was not properly disclosed in Justice Thomas's Supreme Court financial disclosure forms, declaring "none" in the form's “spousal noninvestment income” section, which were amended in 2011 to report 20 years of undisclosed spousal income.[57][59]

Lifespring

In the 1980s, while a congressional aide, Thomas took training with the self-awareness program Lifespring.[60] In 1987, she related to The Washington Post that, during her training several years earlier, she had been "confused and troubled" by lessons such as one where trainees were told to disrobe to bikinis and bathing suits then "made fun of fat people's bodies and ridiculed one another with sexual questions".[60] After realizing that membership in her Lifespring group was separating her from her family, friends, and co-workers, Thomas began what proved to be a difficult and months-long process of breaking away.[60] At one point, she hid in another part of the U.S. to avoid a constant barrage of high-pressure phone calls from Lifespring members, who felt they had a duty to keep her in the organization.[5][60][61][62]

Thomas ultimately came to believe that Lifespring was a cult.[5] After leaving the group in 1985, she sought counseling and joined the Cult Awareness Network.[5][63] She became a critic of controversial religious groups, speaking on panels and organizing anti-cult workshops for Congressional staffers in 1986 and 1988.[5] In a 1991 interview, Thomas remarked, "I was once in a group that used mind control techniques"; and she called its members "pretty scary people."[64]

References

  1. ^ "Liberty Central, Patrick Henry Center Join Forces". Liberty Central. December 3, 2010.
  2. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Karni, Annie (January 26, 2019). "Trump Meets With Hard-Right Group Led by Ginni Thomas". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Calmes, Jackie (August 9, 2010). "Activism of Thomas's Wife Could Raise Judicial Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Richter, Paul (October 13, 1991). "Virginia Thomas: A Wife Shares Husband's Ordeal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Blumenfeld, Laura (September 10, 1991). "The Nominee's Soul Mate". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. p. F01.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Foskett, Ken (2004). Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas. William Morrow and Company. pp. 116, 194–198. ISBN 978-0-06-052721-1.
  7. ^ "Advisory Board Members". Alumni Advisory Board. Creighton University. 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  8. ^ Swoboda, Frank (February 11, 1988). "Chamber of Commerce Backs Concept of Child Care Bill". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company.
  9. ^ "INS Ready to crack down on firms that hire illegal aliens". The Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. May 31, 1988.
  10. ^ Stanton, Betsy (December 10, 1987). "Big business: Family and Medical Leave Act is a bitter pill". Daily News Record.
  11. ^ Staff (September 14, 1989). "Help wanted: skilled workers for the '90s". Purchasing. Reed Business Information, Inc.
  12. ^ Mashek, John; Ethan Bronner (July 2, 1991). "Thomas, a Conservative, Nominated to High Court Confirmation Fight". The Boston Globe.
  13. ^ Marcus, Ruth (July 2, 1991). "Self-Made Conservative; Nominee Insists He Be Judged on Merits". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company.
  14. ^ Staff (September 30, 1989). "Drug Abuse Among Women Expected to be Major Issue". Lexington Herald Leader.
  15. ^ Carlson, Margaret; Joseph J. Kane; Staci D. Kramer (July 15, 1991). "The Supreme Court: Marching to a Different Drummer". Time Magazine. p. 5.
  16. ^ Andre, Claire; Manuel Velasquez. "Comparable Worth". Issues in Ethics. 3 (2). Retrieved February 26, 2020 – via scu.edu.
  17. ^ Carlson, Joseph J. Kane, Margaret (July 15, 1991). "The Supreme Court: Marching to a Different Drummer". Time. p. 1. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  18. ^ Dowd, Maureen (October 12, 1991). "The Thomas Nomination; In An Ugly Atmosphere, the Accusations Fly". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  19. ^ Toner, Robin (December 13, 2000). "Contesting the vote: Political memo; Day-to-Day Duels on Political Issues Have Grown Increasingly Personal". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
  20. ^ Gearan, Ann (September 4, 2001). "Decade after bitter confirmation, Thomas marches to his own tune". The Day. New London, Connecticut. Associated Pres].
  21. ^ Smitherman, Geneva (1995). African American Women Speak Out on Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas. Wayne State University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-8143-2530-8.
  22. ^ Corn, David (December 9, 1991). "Beltway Bandits". The Nation.
  23. ^ Swenson, Michele (2005). Democracy Under Assault. Sol Ventures Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-9766788-0-9.
  24. ^ Staff (November 24, 1994). "Congress: Dole Won't Block Helms". Rocky Mountain News.
  25. ^ Dee, John (January 2001). "Supreme Court (In)Justice". Lumpen. pp. Coup 2K.
  26. ^ Marquis, Christopher (December 12, 2000). "Job of Clarence Thomas's Wife Raises Conflict-of-Interest Questions". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
  27. ^ Staff (September 4, 2001). "After 10 years on Supreme Court, Thomas finds a comfortable routine". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  28. ^ Hennessey, Kathleen (March 14, 2010). "Justice's wife launches 'tea party' group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  29. ^ Calmes, Jackie (2010-10-09). "Activism of Thomas's Wife Could Raise Judicial Issues". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  30. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P. (July 6, 2010). "Secret donors make Thomas's wife's group tea party player". Politico.
  31. ^ Kenneth P. Vogel; Marin Cogan & John Bresnahan (February 4, 2011). "Justice Thomas's wife Virginia Thomas now a lobbyist". Politico.
  32. ^ a b c d "What is Ginni Thomas saying now? The evolution of an unusually outspoken Supreme Court spouse". The Washington Post. 2018.
  33. ^ Corn, David (2013-07-25). "Inside the New Strategy Group Where Right-Wing Activists and Journalists Coordinate Messaging". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  34. ^ Mayer, Jane (2017-12-21). "A Conservative Nonprofit That Seeks to Transform College Campuses Faces Allegations of Racial Bias and Illegal Campaign Activity". New Yorker. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  35. ^ "Advisory Council". Turning Point USA. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  36. ^ Swan, Jonathan (February 23, 2020). "Exclusive: Trump's "Deep State" hit list". Axios.
  37. ^ Gettys, Travis (February 24, 2020). "Clarence Thomas' wife is helping Trump purge 'snakes' from the White House – and replace them with Fox News regulars". Raw Story.
  38. ^ Tucker, Emma (February 23, 2020). "Trump and His Allies Have Compiled Lists of 'Disloyal' Officials to Be Replaced by Loyalists: Report". The Daily Beast.
  39. ^ Boggioni, Tom (February 24, 2020). "Trump leveled by Dem lawmaker for purging 'disloyal' officials so he can surround himself with a 'team of sycophants'". the Daily Beast.
  40. ^ Dye, Liz (February 24, 2020). "White House Purges All Deep State Imperialist Running Dogs It Inexplicably Hired". Wonkette.
  41. ^ Crockett Jr., Stephen A. (February 24, 2020). "Clarence Thomas' Wife, Ginni, Has Been Pushing Hires for Trump's Administration". The Root.
  42. ^ "Ginni Thomas: SCOTUS justice's wife leading right-wing effort to purge officials 'disloyal' to Trump". Yahoo. February 24, 2020.
  43. ^ Williams, Llowell (February 24, 2020). "Who Is Helping Trump Make His Enemies List?". International Business Times.
  44. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint the Following Individuals to Key Administration Posts". The White House. May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  45. ^ Boyer, Dave (May 28, 2020). "Trump nominates Justice Clarence Thomas' wife Virginia to Library of Congress board". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  46. ^ "Ginni Thomas, activist and Supreme Court justice's wife, says George Soros' family 'is really running the Democrat Party'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  47. ^ "Ginni Thomas: George Soros' family 'is really running the Democrat Party'". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  48. ^ "Ginni Thomas, activist and Supreme Court justice's wife, says Soros family 'is really running the Democrat Party'". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  49. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (January 8, 2021). "Ginni Thomas, Wife of Clarence, Cheered On the Rally That Turned Into the Capitol Riot". Slate. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  50. ^ "Ginni Thomas apologized to her husband's Supreme Court clerks after supporting the 'Stop the Steal' rally ahead of the Capitol riot". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  51. ^ a b Barnes, Robert. "Ginni Thomas apologizes to husband's Supreme Court clerks after Capitol riot fallout". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  52. ^ Foskett, Ken (July 6, 2001). "10 years later, an inside look at Clarence Thomas". St. Petersburg Times. Cox News Service.
  53. ^ Malone, Julia; Bob Dart (July 4, 1991). "Judge Thomas: Tough, but 'down to earth' Court nominee called comfortable with self". The Atlanta Journal. p. A1.
  54. ^ Desmond, Joan Frawley. "'Fearless' Justice Clarence Thomas Walks 25 Years in Footsteps of St. Thomas More." National Catholic Register, 31 Oct. 2016, [1]
  55. ^ a b Savage, Charlie (October 19, 2010). "Clarence Thomas's Wife Asks Anita Hill for Apology". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
  56. ^ Fletcher, Michael A. (October 19, 2010). "Virginia Thomas seeks apology from Anita Hill". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company.
  57. ^ a b Geiger, Kim (2011-01-22). "Clarence Thomas failed to report wife's income, watchdog says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  58. ^ NW, The Center for Responsive Politics 1300 L. St; Washington, Suite 200; info, DC 20005 telelphone857-0044 (2019-06-05). "Virginia Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, extends her conservative reach for 2020". OpenSecrets News. Retrieved 2020-10-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  59. ^ "Justice Clarence Thomas Amends 20 Years of Disclosure Forms With Wife's Employers". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  60. ^ a b c d Fisher, Marc (October 25, 1987). "I Cried Enough to Fill a Glass: In One Lifespring Session, Trainees May Find Themselves Crawling on their Hands and Knees, Wailing Like Infants and Tightly Hugging 200 Total Strangers – All to Get Control of Their Lives. Does it Work? Sometimes". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company.
  61. ^ Marcum, Kirsten; Larson, Adam (November 7, 2001). "Cult Status: In which the author struggles to escape the psychological shackles of a self-help seminar". Minneapolis City Pages. Vol. 22, no. 1092. p. Cover story.
  62. ^ Staff (July 18, 1991). "Thomas' Wife Raps Lifespring". San Antonio Express-News.
  63. ^ Phelps, Timothy M.; Helen Winternitz (1993). Capitol Games: The Inside Story of Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill and a Supreme Court Nomination. HarperPerennial. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-0-06-097553-1.
  64. ^ Staff; The Washington Post (July 6, 1991). "Thomas' Wife Was Victim of Cult". The Buffalo News.

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