Litigation

Large Donors to Thomas?s Group are Secret

By Peter Hardin

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas has landed two large donations for her tea party-linked lobbying group, and the donors’ identities are secret, according to a Politico article that profiles Thomas. Her husband is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Virginia Thomas founded and is president of Liberty Central. The group reported to the Internal Revenue Service in 2009 the donations of $500,000 and $50,000, and the donors’ identities are blocked out “in a recently released report” as the law for such groups allows, Politico reports.

Is there a potential ethics concern for Justice Thomas in such contributions, if a donor were a party to a Supreme Court case? Politico hints at that possibility but reaches no conclusion:

“Neither a Liberty Central official, nor a Supreme Court spokeswoman would say whether the group would disclose the names of its donors to the Supreme Court legal office or to Thomas’s husband so he can avoid ruling on cases in which a major Liberty Central donor is a party.”

You can learn about Virginia Thomas founding Liberty Central from Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on July 07, 2010 (boomark / email).