So What's Ginni Thomas Up To Now?

By Eric Lach

Last week came news from Politico that Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has set up a new shop,Liberty Consulting, just a few months after leaving Liberty Central, the Tea Party group she founded in 2009.

Politico's headline says Thomas is "now a lobbyist," but the piece admits that "lobbying records show no registrations for Thomas, Liberty Consulting, Liberty Central or the Patrick Henry Center." So what is she up to?

Liberty Consulting's new website says the group is "committed to effective advocacy and assistance on behalf of those liberty-loving citizens and organizations who wish to preserve limited government, free enterprise, national security, individual liberty and personal responsibility." Thomas is also presenting herselfas a self-appointed "ambassador" to the Republican freshman class. Thomas sent an email to congressional chiefs of staff recently, boasting that she has already met with almost half of the 99 GOP freshmen in the House and Senate. But when Politico contacted "roughly half a dozen aides" for freshman GOPers, they only found one who had a boss who'd met with Thomas.

Liberty Consulting filed incorporation papers in Virginia in mid November, around the same time that news broke about Thomas' departure at Liberty Central. At the time, Liberty Central spokesperson Caitlin Carroll, of CRC Public Relations, told The Washington Post that Thomas would "take a back seat so that Liberty Central can continue with its mission without any of the distractions." Liberty Central initially pushed back on the Post story, and said the reporter had "breached confidentiality." The move came on the heels of a much publicized incident in October, in which Thomas left a voicemail for Anita Hill, asking for Hill to apology for the testimony she gave at Justice Thomas' confirmation hearings in 1991.

In December, Thomas said it was "laughable" to suggest that the Hill call was the reason she stepped down at Liberty Central, but she did admit the call "was probably a mistake on my part." In an interview then, Thomas told The Daily Caller "she still plans to spend the bulk of her time working as a consultant for the organization's newly-formed alliance with the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty."

But Thomas' About Page on the Liberty Consulting site mentions her time at Liberty Central in the past tense. (Meanwhile, Slate's Dave Weigel points out some of the testimonials are recycled from her earlier gig.)

TPM's attempt to contact Thomas through Liberty Consulting was not immediately successful.