Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Thomas, sorry for pro-Trump messages
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • 3 years ago • 18 commentsBy: John Fritze (Des Moines Register)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
John FritzeUSA TODAY View Comments
WASHINGTON - Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, apologized to her husband's former law clerks for posting a series of messages supporting now-former President Donald Trump.
"I owe you all an apology. I have likely imposed on you my lifetime passions," Thomas wrote to a group of the justice's former clerks, according to a copy shared with The Washington Post. "My passions and beliefs are likely shared with the bulk of you, but certainly not all. And sometimes the smallest matters can divide loved ones for too long."
Thomas, long active in conservative political circles, has come under fire from liberals for her commentary about Trump, including offering encouragement to his supporters who gathered in Washington on Jan. 6, some of whom went on to storm the U.S. Capitol. Thomas has said she posted her remarks before the riot occurred.
Her apology comes at a time of reckoning for conservatives, who must decide whether to continue to embrace Trump or return to a more traditional Republican approach to politics. That debate is playing out visibly in the House of Representatives, where Republicans must decide whether to punish freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and Trump supporter, for incendiary remarks.
Justice Thomas, a conservative bulwark on the court who was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Virginia Thomas, who goes by Ginni, posted the messages to a private email list. In one message obtained by The Post, she asserted that "many of us are hurting" after Trump's loss to President Joe Biden in November. Thomas said she felt she had "failed my parents who did their best and taught me to work to preserve liberties."
Thomas has come under fire in the past for other posts on social media, including a 2018 item critical of the survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting. In that post, she raised a debunked theory that the Holocaust was an outgrowth of Germany's gun control efforts under Hitler.
"Contrition means little if it's not followed by actions," said Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, a nonpartisan group that advocates for greater transparency in the federal judiciary. "Given the events of Jan. 6, hopefully she's learned a lesson on character that sticks."
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Her husband has been on the Supreme Court for almost 30 years. If she doesn't know by now what is or isn't permissible in her role as spouse to a Supreme Court Justice, she's never going to learn.
Donald Trump's intention was to cheat and get the election overturned in his favor. And the wife of a Supreme Court justice supported this? My god.
Please do point out or supply a link to what is allowed and not allowed for a spouse of a SCOTUS member.
tweeting support for a mob which was inappropriately protesting election results is not permissible
Not permissible by what statute?
Texan, do you understand that Donald Trump wanted to be illegally and unethically installed for a second term as president? His "legal team" was appealing in the various states to have courts give Republican state legislatures the right to name "alternative" electors who would vote for Trump in the electoral college even though he had lost the vote in those states. Trump wanted to literally null and void tens of millions of Americans votes.
Knowing that, presumably she reads the newspapers, Ginni Thomas voiced support for the Capitol Building mob.
go argue with yourself.
Hey, you made the claim it was not permitted, and all I did was ask for proof.
Since you don't have any, I'll just disregard the comment as hyper-partisan bullshit.
If it was "permitted" , she wouldnt be apologizing would she ?
If it isn't permitted, why isn't she being charged criminally with anything?
Almost anyone who gets called on ANYTHING apologizes after the fact. Like this guy......
Some don't necessarily apologize but state "I didn't speak artfully"
Man, talk about talking around in circles. Let me help you guys.
There is no statute that says that the wife of a SCOTUS justice can't state her point of view. The issue here is that her point of view supports what is deemed insurrection. That undermines her husband, who is supposed to uphold the Constitution.
Is there a statue that says she can't do this? No.
Was it a smart thing to do, given that insurrection is against the Constitution and her husband is in the business of supporting our Constitution. No.
Was the apology in order. You bet. She is making her husband look bad but association.
No one says there is a statute. I thought when I said it is not permitted it would be readily understood what is meant by that phrase in this context and I wouldn't have to get into a freaking argument about what the meaning of the word "permitted" is. How naive I must be.
There is a standard of behavior for Supreme court Justices and their families, and all public figures who are supposed to be "objective". And cheering on people protesting in support of an illegal and unethical attempt (by Trump) to steal the election falls into the category of behavior that is not "permitted" if wives of SC Justices want to remain well thought of.
I didnt say imply infer or suggest Ginni Thomas had broken a law, but someone asks me the question three different times.
NT should not be like this.
The word permitted means allowed. Look it up.
Funny how some folks think we answer to them huh John?
I bet larry has to go to the whip in the last 20 furlongs of every race.
Can you believe that nasty bitch called Anita Hill back in 2010 asking her to apologize to her sexual harrass(er) of a husband?
LAW
Justice Thomas' Wife Asks Anita Hill To Apologize
NINA TOTENBERG
AROUND THE NATION
Justice Thomas' Wife Calls Anita Hill
In a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction twist, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas earlier this month left a voice-mail message for Anita Hill, asking Hill to apologize for her 1991 testimony accusing then Supreme Court nominee Thomas of sexual harassment.
Virginia Thomas has confirmed through a spokesman that on Oct. 9, she left a voice-mail message at Hill's Brandeis University office. News organizations, including The New York Times and ABC, have reported that they heard the recording, which said: "Good morning, Anita Hill. Its Ginni 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 on this, and hope that one day you will help us understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day."
Professor Hill told The New York Times she had nothing to apologize for because she told the truth in 1991, when she testified that Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when she worked for him at two federal agencies.
Sounds like Ginni has bigger balls than her husband.