Virginia Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has emerged in yet another role — as a “self-appointed ambassador” to the GOP freshman class. However, nobody has yet confirmed her claims of these extensive ambassadorial duties.
When we last heard from Ginni Thomas this past October, she had left a voicemail with Anita Hill — the woman who accused Clarence of Thomas of sexual harassment during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings way back in 1991 — asking for an apology. (Ginni Thomas later said the call was “probably a mistake.”) Now, as Politico reports, Ginni Thomas has gone to great lengths to promote her expertise and influence at her new firm, Liberty Consulting:
Thomas already has met with nearly half of the 99 GOP freshmen in the House and Senate, according to an e-mail she sent last week to congressional chiefs of staff, in which she branded herself “a self-appointed, ambassador to the freshmen class and an ambassador to the tea party movement.”
An interesting thing, though — Politico had a hard time finding a freshman who has actually met with Ginni Thomas. “This is the spouse of Justice Thomas?” said a seemingly surprised Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ). “No, I’ve never met her. It’s not something I’ve heard about. And I hang out with a lot of freshman,” he said.
I sought info from some high-ranking GOP aides, who also have no idea what this is about. In addition, I have left a message with Ginni Thomas, but I doubt I’ll be any more successful than Politico’s efforts on that front:
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Thomas said she was having trouble with the signal, telling a POLITICO reporter: “I would be happy to talk with you, but I really can’t understand clearly what you’re asking, so maybe this is not a good time to talk.”
She did not respond to subsequent voice mail or e-mail messages.
