Clarence Thomas' Wife Draws Secret Donors to Tea Party

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas' new think tank has something most Tea Party advocates lack: Deep pockets. The wife of Clarence Thomas founded Liberty Central in November with two donations totaling $550,000 that landed it squarely on the map. Thomas, who two years ago retreated to academia to avoid conflicts of interest with her husband's job, is now very much back in the fray, calling Barack Obama a “hard left” politician pushing the nation toward “tyranny,” Politico reports.

Thomas is “getting to know the Tea Party groups,” she tells a conservative blog. “What I think I can bring to the table is connective tissue between the new people and the old people.” A group director says Liberty Central has already been approved by the Supreme Court’s ethics office, and will deal with any conflicts “on a case-by-case basis.” (More Clarence Thomas stories.)