The Washington Post has reported todays problem with Justice Thomas and the complete lack of ethics on the United States Supreme Court: tens of thousands of dollars paid to Ginni Thomas by conservative "judicial activist" Leonardo Leo. Wapo reports reviewing documents that Leo had KellyAnne Conway pay Ginni Thomas for "consulting" and to be sure there was no mention of Ginni in the paperwork.
Thomas, and her husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, have frequently been in the news as word of their mis or unreported income, lavish gifts, private education, and family housing have come to light. The only perhaps surprising thing about this report is that Nazi memorabilia-collecting billionaire Harlan Crow isn't directly involved.
Leo, a key figure in a network of nonprofits that has worked to support the nominations of conservative judges, told Conway that he wanted her to "give" Ginni Thomas "another $25K," the documents show. He emphasized that the paperwork should have "No mention of Ginni, of course."
Conway's firm, the Polling Company, sent the Judicial Education Project a $25,000 bill that day. Per Leo's instructions, it listed the purpose as "Supplement for Constitution Polling and Opinion Consulting," the documents show.
In all, according to the documents, the Polling Company paid Thomas's firm, Liberty Consulting, $80,000 between June 2011 and June 2012, and it expected to pay $20,000 more before the end of 2012. The documents reviewed by The Post do not indicate the precise nature of any work Thomas did for the Judicial Education Project or the Polling Company.
The arrangement reveals that Leo, a longtime Federalist Society leader and friend of the Thomases, has functioned not only as an ideological ally of Clarence Thomas's but also has worked to provide financial remuneration to his family. And it shows Leo arranging for the money to be drawn from a nonprofit that soon would have an interest before the court.
