Virginia Thomas, a conservative politician for over a decade, has consistently maintained that her political activities did not conflict with Clarence Thomas’s work.
Thomas stated earlier this month that, like many married couples, they share many of the same ideals and principles for America in a interview with the Washington Free Beacon. “But we each have our separate careers and our own ideas, opinions and opinions. Clarence does not discuss his work with him, and I do not involve him in mine.”
After revelations, Justice Thomas is facing new accusations of conflict-of-interest. His wife repeatedly asked aides of former President Donald Trump not to accept the results of November 2020’s presidential election. A series of text messages between Virginia Thomas, also known as Ginni, and Mark Meadows, the former White House chief-of staff, show that she lobbying Meadows for defeat and giving strategic advice on how to reverse President Joe Biden’s win.
The first reports by CBS and The Washington Post highlight Thomas’ close relationship to Trump’s inner circle. They also show her involvement in a divisive, destructive fight that many Trump supporters believed would end in front of her husband, who is on the Supreme Court.
Trump’s attempts at changing the results were eventually brought before the court. The court refused, however, to hear a number of state-level challenges during February 2021. Justice Thomas described the cases as an “ideal chance” to address the important question of whether state legislators or state courts have final say on how federal elections are conducted. He voted against, calling the decision not to hear arguments in this case “befuddling and inexplicable.”
Ginni Thomas’ involvement in this fight has led to calls for Justice Thomas’ recusal from all cases related to the Jan. 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol perpetrated by a mob backed by Trump to prevent the Senate from certifying election results.
“Why didn’t Justice Thomas withdraw himself from the Trump records case due to Ginni Thomas’ apparent active involvement?” Senator Richard Blumenthal, D.Conn, stated on Twitter. “The nation needs an explanation, and the Supreme Court requires a Code of Ethics.”
He stated that “no doubt that Justice Thomas’ recusal is essential” in any case involving the investigation of the January 6th committee and the 2024 presidential elections if Trump wins again.
It is common for spouses of Supreme Court justices and judges to have their own careers. These careers often involve the law within the insular and overlapping world of D.C. legal circles. Ginni Thomas has a deep history of conservative partisan politics.
It was not hard to find out her history as a strong Trump supporter. Her Facebook page, which was active before the November 2020 elections, featured numerous posts that covered a range of familiar Trump-world topics. These included allegations of corruption against the Biden families, speculations that billionaire philanthropist George Soros has control of the Democratic Party, attacks upon the mainstream media, and claims that Biden may be suffering from dementia.
Thomas stated in interviews that she was present at the first pro-Trump rally on Jan. 6, but left before Trump spoke.
Justice Thomas was one of the few dissenting voices when the Supreme Court in January allowed a congressional committee access the presidential diaries, visitor logs speech drafts, and handwritten notes related to Jan. 6.
Ginni Thomas was born Virginia Lamp, Omaha, Nebraska in 1957. She attended the University of Nebraska and later earned a law degree at Creighton University. Creighton University is a private Jesuit university located in Omaha. Marjorie Lamp, her mother, was an important figure in the local Republican political scene and unsuccessfully ran in 1972 for Congress. Ginni Thomas wrote in the 2009 obituary of her mother that her mother was “into political for all the right purposes — for our country.”
Ginni Lamp arrived in Washington, D.C., as an aide for former Nebraska Republican Rep. Hal Daub. Clarence Thomas was her husband when she married Ginni Lamp in 1987. During his 1991 confirmation hearings, he was accused of sexual harassment.
She continued her work at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Heritage Foundation. This right-wing powerhouse has been instrumental in Trump’s success. It has stacked the court with conservative judges like Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, and was selected and vetted.
She was a Special Correspondent for The Daily Caller for several years, contributing videos and articles to the site founded by Tucker Carlson of Fox News. She made her last contribution in 2018. The articles have headlines such as, “Dems on the ‘Greatest Witch Hunt since Salem’ According to Donald Trump Jr.”
On the Daily Caller website, her biography mentions hobbies like motor homing and supporting the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. Thomas “maintained her midwestern authenticity” after spending 30 years in Washington, D.C.
She founded Liberty Consulting twelve years ago. In her interview with Free Beacon, she describes her role as “coalition building and bridge-building”.
Thomas said that Thomas’s openly political work was compatible with her husband’s duties, provided she did not take positions on particular cases before the Supreme Court.
Thomas stated to the Free Beacon, “The legal lane belongs to my husband — I don’t enjoy reading briefs or judicial opinions anyway so I am happy to stay out.” “We don’t discuss cases until opinions have been made public. Even then, our discussions are very general and limited in scope.
