Justice Thomas' Wife: Who Paid For The Buses?

Virginia Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, was accused of sponsoring 80 buses to transport participants to the Save America rally on 6 January 2021, which led to the Capitol riots. However, this claim was proven to be false. Ginni Thomas was a vocal activist for fringe right-wing causes and had ties to Turning Point USA, the organisation that funded the buses. While she did promote the protests and praised the participants, there is no evidence that she funded the buses.

Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, sponsored 80 buses for the Save America rally on January 6, 2021

On January 6, 2021, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, allegedly sponsored 80 buses to transport participants to the "Save America" rally. This claim, however, has been deemed false by investigative journalist Alex Kasprak.

In the weeks leading up to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, several prominent right-wing activists aggressively promoted the "Save America Rally," which former US President Donald Trump later used as a platform to encourage thousands of people to march to the Capitol. This led to at least five deaths and the delay in the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Following the melee, journalists and activists scrutinized the roles of various individuals involved in promoting the demonstrations that day. On January 7, 2021, Slate reporter Mark Joseph Stern highlighted the fact that Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, had enthusiastically promoted the protests and praised the participants. This observation later formed the basis of a false rumor that Thomas had funded 80 buses to transport insurrectionists to Washington, DC.

The rumor originated from a now-deleted tweet by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who claimed that he and his organizations would be sending "80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight for this president." The link to Thomas gained prominence when it was promoted in a user-submitted blog post on the left-wing site DailyKos. Thomas was once on the "Advisory Council" for Turning Point USA but has not served in that role since at least early 2019.

While Ginni Thomas is a well-known right-wing organizer and conspiracy theorist, there is no evidence directly linking her to the funding of the buses for the "Save America" rally.

The claim that Ginni Thomas funded the buses is false, despite her role as a right-wing activist

The claim that Ginni Thomas funded 80 buses for the "Save America" rally on January 6, 2021, is false. This claim stems from a now-deleted tweet by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who stated that his organization would be sending "80+ buses full of patriots to DC." Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, had no involvement with the funding of these buses, despite her role as a prominent right-wing activist.

Ginni Thomas has been a vocal activist for fringe right-wing causes for over a decade. She has provided memos to former President Donald Trump, outlining government officials she believed were unfaithful, and successfully lobbied for the appointment of Trump loyalists to government posts. In addition, she has promoted false talking points regarding illegal voting by immigrants in the 2016 election.

While Ginni Thomas was once on the "Advisory Council" for Turning Point USA, she has not served in that role since at least early 2019. The claim that she funded the buses is based on an unproven assertion and has been refuted by journalists and activists who have scrutinized the events leading up to the Capitol riot.

It is important to separate fact from fiction, especially when it involves public figures and sensitive issues. In this case, the claim that Ginni Thomas funded the buses is false, and it is crucial to rely on credible sources and evidence to support any allegations or claims.

Justice Clarence Thomas has been criticised for failing to disclose trips funded by billionaire Republican donor, Harlan Crow

In August 2024, it came to light that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took additional undisclosed travel funded by billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. According to Senator Ron Wyden, citing international flight records, Thomas and his wife, Virginia, took a round trip between Hawaii and New Zealand in November 2010 on Crow's private jet.

Thomas has faced criticism from congressional Democrats and others for failing to disclose gifts from Crow, including trips on a yacht. In a letter to Crow's lawyer, Wyden demanded more information about the financial relationship between the two men, as part of an inquiry into Crow and the justice. Wyden expressed concern that Crow may have been providing a public official with extravagant gifts to lower his tax bill.

Thomas has previously defended his omission of Crow-funded trips, stating that he believed they were "'personal hospitality' and thus exempt from disclosure requirements. However, critics argue that the Supreme Court's code of conduct does not go far enough to promote transparency, leaving decisions to recuse from cases to the justices themselves without an enforcement mechanism.

In addition to the trips, Thomas has also been scrutinized for receiving a loan for a luxury RV from a health insurance executive and failing to disclose two decades' worth of luxury gifts from Crow, including free private jet and superyacht trips, a house purchase, and boarding school tuition for his grandnephew.

While Thomas's wife, Ginni, has been a vocal activist for fringe right-wing causes, it is important to note that the claim she sponsored 80 buses to the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021, is false. This rumor stemmed from a deleted tweet by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who claimed his organization would fund the buses, and Thomas's past association with the group.

Thomas has accepted luxury vacations, flights, and yacht trips from Crow, totalling millions of dollars

In 2024, it was revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, had accepted various luxury vacations, flights, and yacht trips from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. The total value of these gifts is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

In August 2024, Senator Ron Wyden, the Democratic chair of the Senate Finance Committee, disclosed that Thomas and his wife took a round trip between Hawaii and New Zealand in November 2010, flying on Crow's private jet. This was in addition to previously reported trips on Crow's jet and superyacht, the Michaela Rose. The senator expressed concern that Crow might have improperly used these gifts to lower his tax bills, a claim that Crow's spokesperson denied.

The Thomases' trip to Indonesia in 2019, which included an eight-day yacht excursion with Crow and his wife, was estimated to cost around $500,000, nearly double Thomas's yearly Supreme Court salary. Thomas also reported a hotel stay in Bali paid for by Crow, although the timeline of this report was questioned and merited further investigation.

Other gifts from Crow to Thomas included the purchase of a property where Thomas's mother lived in Georgia, resort stays, and payment of school fees for a relative.

The revelations sparked an ethics crisis for the Supreme Court and led to calls for judiciary reform and better enforcement of ethics rules. Thomas initially defended his omission of these gifts, stating that he believed they fell under "personal hospitality" and were thus exempt from disclosure requirements. However, the scale of the gifts and Thomas's failure to disclose them raised concerns about the influence exerted by wealthy individuals over the justice.

Ginni Thomas, a well-known right-wing activist and conspiracy theorist, has also faced scrutiny for her role in promoting the "Save America Rally" on January 6, 2021, which later turned into a riot at the Capitol. While a false rumor claimed that she funded 80 buses for the event, it was confirmed that she enthusiastically promoted the protests and praised the participants.

Thomas has also received gifts, loans, and property sales from other conservative donors, without proper disclosure

In addition to the gifts received from Harlan Crow, Justice Clarence Thomas has also received gifts, loans, and property sales from other conservative donors, without proper disclosure.

In 1999, Thomas received a $267,230 loan from Anthony Welters, a former executive at AmeriChoice, a health maintenance organization that provided services to Medicaid patients. The loan was for the purchase of a luxury RV, which Thomas and his wife used to "explore the United States in their downtime". Thomas recused himself from at least two cases involving AmeriChoice's parent company, UnitedHealth Group, while the loan was active. However, he participated in another health insurance case, Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila, and authored the court's unanimous opinion, which broadly benefited the industry. The public was unaware of the loan at the time of the decision, as it was only exposed by The New York Times in 2023.

Thomas also received undisclosed gifts from other conservative donors, including a Bible that once belonged to abolitionist Frederick Douglass and a bust of Abraham Lincoln from Harlan Crow. Additionally, Crow gave $105,000 to Yale Law School, Thomas's alma mater, for the "Justice Thomas Portrait Fund". In 2012, conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo paid $25,000 to Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway's firm, which was then paid to Ginni Thomas's firm, Liberty Consulting.

Thomas has faced intense scrutiny and criticism for his failure to disclose these gifts and benefits, with some calling for a federal investigation into his conduct. Despite the controversy, Thomas has defended his actions, claiming that he believed the gifts were personal hospitality and thus exempt from disclosure requirements.

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