Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas' wife had ties to January 6 rally organizers and efforts to overturn the 2020 election: report
oseddiq@insider.com (Oma Seddiq) -
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, right, and wife Virginia "Ginni" Thomas at the White House in 2019.
The Times also reported on Ginni Thomas' connections with people who sought to overturn the 2020 election results.
Thomas served on the board of a conservative group that pushed for its members to challenge the election results.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, had ties to organizers of the January 6, 2021 rallies in support of President Donald Trump as well as to efforts to subvert the 2020 election results, according to a New York Times Magazine report published Tuesday.
The Times revealed details about Thomas' role, which had been previously unreported. The Washington Post reported last month that Thomas shared a Facebook post on January 6 before the violence broke out. "LOVE MAGA people!!!! GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU STANDING UP or PRAYING!" she wrote.
Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, played a peacemaking role between rally organizers "so that there wouldn't be any division around January 6," Dustin Stockton, who helped organized the Ellipse rally, told The Times. The Ellipse rally took place shortly before a crowd of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol, clashed with law enforcement officials, and interrupted the 2020 election certification.
"The way it was presented to me was that Ginni was uniting these different factions around a singular mission on January 6," Stockton said. The Times noted that other rally organizers disputed Stockton's account about Thomas but did not offer specifics.
Thomas also served on the advisory board of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that sponsored the event and provided buses for rallygoers on January 6, The Times reported.
Thomas is also connected to people who sought to undo the 2020 election results. John Eastman, the lawyer who wrote a memo — without any evidence — on how Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election results, previously clerked for Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court, and is a close friend to the couple, per The Times.
Steve Bannon, a one-time White House chief strategist for Trump, also endorsed efforts to challenge the election results. Ginni Thomas founded a group called Groundswell with Bannon's support, per The Times.
Thomas also served on the board of the Council for National Policy's political arm, CNP Action, which circulated a document titled "Election Results and Legal Battles: What Now?" after the presidential election, according to The Times. The document urged members to call on Republican state lawmakers to challenge the 2020 election results.
In December 2020, CNP Action shared a newsletter with a report called "Five States and the Election Irregularities and Issues," featuring five swing states where Trump had been attempting to overturn the results. The newsletter pointed to "historical, legal precedent for Congress to count a slate of electors different from that certified by the Governor of the state," according to The Times.
oseddiq@insider.com (Oma Seddiq) -
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, right, and wife Virginia "Ginni" Thomas at the White House in 2019.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginni, had ties to organizers of a January 6, 2021 rally, per The New York Times.
Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginni, had ties to organizers of a January 6, 2021 rally, per The New York Times.
The Times also reported on Ginni Thomas' connections with people who sought to overturn the 2020 election results.
Thomas served on the board of a conservative group that pushed for its members to challenge the election results.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, had ties to organizers of the January 6, 2021 rallies in support of President Donald Trump as well as to efforts to subvert the 2020 election results, according to a New York Times Magazine report published Tuesday.
The Times revealed details about Thomas' role, which had been previously unreported. The Washington Post reported last month that Thomas shared a Facebook post on January 6 before the violence broke out. "LOVE MAGA people!!!! GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU STANDING UP or PRAYING!" she wrote.
Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, played a peacemaking role between rally organizers "so that there wouldn't be any division around January 6," Dustin Stockton, who helped organized the Ellipse rally, told The Times. The Ellipse rally took place shortly before a crowd of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol, clashed with law enforcement officials, and interrupted the 2020 election certification.
"The way it was presented to me was that Ginni was uniting these different factions around a singular mission on January 6," Stockton said. The Times noted that other rally organizers disputed Stockton's account about Thomas but did not offer specifics.
Thomas also served on the advisory board of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that sponsored the event and provided buses for rallygoers on January 6, The Times reported.
Thomas is also connected to people who sought to undo the 2020 election results. John Eastman, the lawyer who wrote a memo — without any evidence — on how Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election results, previously clerked for Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court, and is a close friend to the couple, per The Times.
Steve Bannon, a one-time White House chief strategist for Trump, also endorsed efforts to challenge the election results. Ginni Thomas founded a group called Groundswell with Bannon's support, per The Times.
Thomas also served on the board of the Council for National Policy's political arm, CNP Action, which circulated a document titled "Election Results and Legal Battles: What Now?" after the presidential election, according to The Times. The document urged members to call on Republican state lawmakers to challenge the 2020 election results.
In December 2020, CNP Action shared a newsletter with a report called "Five States and the Election Irregularities and Issues," featuring five swing states where Trump had been attempting to overturn the results. The newsletter pointed to "historical, legal precedent for Congress to count a slate of electors different from that certified by the Governor of the state," according to The Times.
RAW STORY
February 22, 2022
Clarence and Ginni Thomas (Facebook)
The political activism of a Supreme Court spouse is the focus of a New York Times exposé titled "The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas."
The newspaper noted her work for the Council for National Policy, which it said "brings together old-school Republican luminaries, Christian conservatives, Tea Party activists and MAGA operatives, with more than 400 members who include leaders of organizations like the Federalist Society, the National Rifle Association and the Family Research Council."
The newspaper explained that "Ginni Thomas insists, in her council biography, that she and her husband operate in “separate professional lanes,” but those lanes in fact merge with notable frequency. For the three decades he has sat on the Supreme Court, they have worked in tandem from the bench and the political trenches to take aim at targets like Roe v. Wade and affirmative action. Together they believe that “America is in a vicious battle for its founding principles,” as Ginni Thomas has put it. Her views, once seen as on the fringe, have come to dominate the Republican Party. And with Trump’s three appointments reshaping the Supreme Court, her husband finds himself at the center of a new conservative majority poised to shake the foundations of settled law. In a nation freighted with division and upheaval, the Thomases have found their moment."
The report noted how Ginni Thomas gained access to the Oval Office during the Trump administration.
RELATED: Clarence Thomas dissent in GOP election challenge raises new questions about his wife: 'Investigate Ginni'
"This article draws on hours of recordings and internal documents from groups affiliated with the Thomases; dozens of interviews with the Thomases’ classmates, friends, colleagues and critics, as well as more than a dozen Trump White House aides and supporters and some of Justice Thomas’s former clerks; and an archive of Council for National Policy videos and internal documents provided by an academic researcher in Australia, Brent Allpress," the newspaper reported. "The reporting uncovered new details on the Thomases’ ascent: how Trump courted Justice Thomas; how Ginni Thomas used that courtship to gain access to the Oval Office, where her insistent policy and personnel suggestions so aggravated aides that one called her a “wrecking ball” while others put together an opposition-research-style report on her that was obtained by The Times; and the extent to which Justice Thomas flouted judicial-ethics guidance by participating in events hosted by conservative organizations with matters before the court."
February 22, 2022
Clarence and Ginni Thomas (Facebook)
The political activism of a Supreme Court spouse is the focus of a New York Times exposé titled "The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas."
The newspaper noted her work for the Council for National Policy, which it said "brings together old-school Republican luminaries, Christian conservatives, Tea Party activists and MAGA operatives, with more than 400 members who include leaders of organizations like the Federalist Society, the National Rifle Association and the Family Research Council."
The newspaper explained that "Ginni Thomas insists, in her council biography, that she and her husband operate in “separate professional lanes,” but those lanes in fact merge with notable frequency. For the three decades he has sat on the Supreme Court, they have worked in tandem from the bench and the political trenches to take aim at targets like Roe v. Wade and affirmative action. Together they believe that “America is in a vicious battle for its founding principles,” as Ginni Thomas has put it. Her views, once seen as on the fringe, have come to dominate the Republican Party. And with Trump’s three appointments reshaping the Supreme Court, her husband finds himself at the center of a new conservative majority poised to shake the foundations of settled law. In a nation freighted with division and upheaval, the Thomases have found their moment."
The report noted how Ginni Thomas gained access to the Oval Office during the Trump administration.
RELATED: Clarence Thomas dissent in GOP election challenge raises new questions about his wife: 'Investigate Ginni'
"This article draws on hours of recordings and internal documents from groups affiliated with the Thomases; dozens of interviews with the Thomases’ classmates, friends, colleagues and critics, as well as more than a dozen Trump White House aides and supporters and some of Justice Thomas’s former clerks; and an archive of Council for National Policy videos and internal documents provided by an academic researcher in Australia, Brent Allpress," the newspaper reported. "The reporting uncovered new details on the Thomases’ ascent: how Trump courted Justice Thomas; how Ginni Thomas used that courtship to gain access to the Oval Office, where her insistent policy and personnel suggestions so aggravated aides that one called her a “wrecking ball” while others put together an opposition-research-style report on her that was obtained by The Times; and the extent to which Justice Thomas flouted judicial-ethics guidance by participating in events hosted by conservative organizations with matters before the court."
The Trump administration created an opposition research file on Ginni Thomas, the far-right activist married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
In a bombshell report published by The New York Times, reporters Danny Hakim and Jo Becker detail the power Ginni Thomas has within the conservative movement.
"This article draws on hours of recordings and internal documents from groups affiliated with the Thomases; dozens of interviews with the Thomases’ classmates, friends, colleagues and critics, as well as more than a dozen Trump White House aides and supporters and some of Justice Thomas’s former clerks; and an archive of Council for National Policy videos and internal documents provided by an academic researcher in Australia, Brent Allpress," the newspaper reported. "The reporting uncovered new details on the Thomases’ ascent: how Trump courted Justice Thomas; how Ginni Thomas used that courtship to gain access to the Oval Office, where her insistent policy and personnel suggestions so aggravated aides that one called her a “wrecking ball” while others put together an opposition-research-style report on her that was obtained by The Times; and the extent to which Justice Thomas flouted judicial-ethics guidance by participating in events hosted by conservative organizations with matters before the court."
The newspaper reported on a Jan. 25, 2019 meeting with Trump.
"It was the craziest meeting I’ve ever been to,” said a Trump aide.
"It was an event with no precedent, and some of the details of what transpired soon leaked: the wife of a sitting Supreme Court justice lobbying a president when several cases involving transgender rights were making their way through the federal courts," the newspaper reported. "Before the meeting, Trump’s aides assembled the research document outlining concerns with Ginni Thomas and some of her preferred job candidates, the contents of which they shared with the president."
The opposition research document noted that Ginni Thomas ally Crystal Clanton had been forced out of Turning Point USA for reportedly texting “I HATE BLACK PEOPLE. Like [expletive] them all. … I hate blacks. End of story.”
Thomas reportedly pushed for positions for Dan Bongino and former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke.
“In the White House, she was out of bounds many times,” one of Trump’s senior aides said. “It was always: ‘We need more MAGA people in government. We’re trying to get these résumés through, and we’re being blocked.’ I appreciated her energy, but a lot of these people couldn’t pass background checks.”
Clarence Thomas' network tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results: NYT
Official portrait of Justice Clarence Thomas (Wikimedia Commons)
A network of people tied to Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and his wife went into action following the 2020 presidential election, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The newspaper reported that "a number of longtime friends and associates of the Thomases" were either involved in legal efforts to overturn the election results or had helped to plan Jan. 6 rallies.
The report focused on wife Ginni Thomas, reporting "it was after Trump’s November loss that she would prove her loyalty beyond doubt, when she and her group urged on efforts to overturn the election."
"New reporting also shows just how blurred the lines between the couple’s interests became during the effort to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the rally held at the Ellipse, just outside the White House grounds, aimed at stopping Congress from certifying the state votes that gave Joe Biden his victory. Many of the rally organizers and those advising Trump had connections to the Thomases, but little has been known about what role, if any, Ginni Thomas played, beyond the fact that on the morning of the March to Save America, as the rally was called, she urged her Facebook followers to watch how the day unfolded," the newspaper reported.
The deep-dive report focused on Ginni Thomas' political activism.
"In the weeks after Trump’s loss, court challenges began to pile up from his team, his allies and even Republican lawmakers," the newspaper reported. "By then, the network around the Thomases was lighting up. On Dec. 10, a former Thomas clerk and close friend of the couple’s, John C. Eastman, went on 'War Room,' a podcast and radio show hosted by Bannon. Eastman argued that the country was already at the point of a constitutional crisis — and he urged the Supreme Court to intervene. Bannon eagerly agreed."
The report noted Ginni Thomas was not only tied to Eastman and Bannon, but also Cleta Mitchell, who was on Trump's Jan. 2 call trying to overturn the election results in Georgia.
"Turning Point USA, on whose advisory board Ginni Thomas had served, was a sponsor of the Jan. 6 event and provided buses for attendees. Other sponsors included two more groups with which Ginni Thomas had long ties. One was the Tea Party Patriots, headed by Jenny Beth Martin, a fellow Council for National Policy activist. The other was Women for America First, which held the permit for the rally at the Ellipse and was run by Amy Kremer," the newspaper reported. "The spectacle of a Supreme Court justice’s spouse taking to Facebook to champion the attempt of a defeated president to stay in power, as Ginni Thomas did on the morning of Jan. 6, crossed a line for several people in the Thomases’ circle who talked to The Times."
In a bombshell report published by The New York Times, reporters Danny Hakim and Jo Becker detail the power Ginni Thomas has within the conservative movement.
"This article draws on hours of recordings and internal documents from groups affiliated with the Thomases; dozens of interviews with the Thomases’ classmates, friends, colleagues and critics, as well as more than a dozen Trump White House aides and supporters and some of Justice Thomas’s former clerks; and an archive of Council for National Policy videos and internal documents provided by an academic researcher in Australia, Brent Allpress," the newspaper reported. "The reporting uncovered new details on the Thomases’ ascent: how Trump courted Justice Thomas; how Ginni Thomas used that courtship to gain access to the Oval Office, where her insistent policy and personnel suggestions so aggravated aides that one called her a “wrecking ball” while others put together an opposition-research-style report on her that was obtained by The Times; and the extent to which Justice Thomas flouted judicial-ethics guidance by participating in events hosted by conservative organizations with matters before the court."
The newspaper reported on a Jan. 25, 2019 meeting with Trump.
"It was the craziest meeting I’ve ever been to,” said a Trump aide.
"It was an event with no precedent, and some of the details of what transpired soon leaked: the wife of a sitting Supreme Court justice lobbying a president when several cases involving transgender rights were making their way through the federal courts," the newspaper reported. "Before the meeting, Trump’s aides assembled the research document outlining concerns with Ginni Thomas and some of her preferred job candidates, the contents of which they shared with the president."
The opposition research document noted that Ginni Thomas ally Crystal Clanton had been forced out of Turning Point USA for reportedly texting “I HATE BLACK PEOPLE. Like [expletive] them all. … I hate blacks. End of story.”
Thomas reportedly pushed for positions for Dan Bongino and former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke.
“In the White House, she was out of bounds many times,” one of Trump’s senior aides said. “It was always: ‘We need more MAGA people in government. We’re trying to get these résumés through, and we’re being blocked.’ I appreciated her energy, but a lot of these people couldn’t pass background checks.”
Clarence Thomas' network tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results: NYT
Official portrait of Justice Clarence Thomas (Wikimedia Commons)
A network of people tied to Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and his wife went into action following the 2020 presidential election, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The newspaper reported that "a number of longtime friends and associates of the Thomases" were either involved in legal efforts to overturn the election results or had helped to plan Jan. 6 rallies.
The report focused on wife Ginni Thomas, reporting "it was after Trump’s November loss that she would prove her loyalty beyond doubt, when she and her group urged on efforts to overturn the election."
"New reporting also shows just how blurred the lines between the couple’s interests became during the effort to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the rally held at the Ellipse, just outside the White House grounds, aimed at stopping Congress from certifying the state votes that gave Joe Biden his victory. Many of the rally organizers and those advising Trump had connections to the Thomases, but little has been known about what role, if any, Ginni Thomas played, beyond the fact that on the morning of the March to Save America, as the rally was called, she urged her Facebook followers to watch how the day unfolded," the newspaper reported.
The deep-dive report focused on Ginni Thomas' political activism.
"In the weeks after Trump’s loss, court challenges began to pile up from his team, his allies and even Republican lawmakers," the newspaper reported. "By then, the network around the Thomases was lighting up. On Dec. 10, a former Thomas clerk and close friend of the couple’s, John C. Eastman, went on 'War Room,' a podcast and radio show hosted by Bannon. Eastman argued that the country was already at the point of a constitutional crisis — and he urged the Supreme Court to intervene. Bannon eagerly agreed."
The report noted Ginni Thomas was not only tied to Eastman and Bannon, but also Cleta Mitchell, who was on Trump's Jan. 2 call trying to overturn the election results in Georgia.
"Turning Point USA, on whose advisory board Ginni Thomas had served, was a sponsor of the Jan. 6 event and provided buses for attendees. Other sponsors included two more groups with which Ginni Thomas had long ties. One was the Tea Party Patriots, headed by Jenny Beth Martin, a fellow Council for National Policy activist. The other was Women for America First, which held the permit for the rally at the Ellipse and was run by Amy Kremer," the newspaper reported. "The spectacle of a Supreme Court justice’s spouse taking to Facebook to champion the attempt of a defeated president to stay in power, as Ginni Thomas did on the morning of Jan. 6, crossed a line for several people in the Thomases’ circle who talked to The Times."
LONG READ NYT full report.
No comments:
Post a Comment