Following Pressure By Rep. Weiner,
Justice Clarence Thomas Admits Spouse Earned Up To $150,000 More From Anti-Healthcare Group
Virginia Thomas’ Salary From Anti-Health Care Firm Only Adds to Clear Conflict of Interest, Need for Recusal
Today, after months of pressure from Rep. Anthony Weiner (D – Queens and Brooklyn), Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas publically released his financial disclosure forms, which reveal that he has an even greater conflict of interest in cases related to health care reform than was originally speculated, with his wife having received salary from Liberty Central, an organization that actively supports the repeal of health care reform. This latest filing casts even further doubt on Justice Thomas’ impartiality.
See Thomas’ filing HERE
“We knew that Justice Thomas’s family had a financial stake in opposing health care reform. Now we know even more,” Weiner said. “It’s pretty clear the Justice has one option here: recusal.”
Earlier this year, Rep. Weiner and 90 of his colleagues sent a letter to Justice Thomas calling on him to recuse himself from deliberations on health care reform due to the appearance of a conflict of interest related to income his spouse, Virginia Thomas, has received from groups that oppose health care reform. In addition, hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed petitions calling for Justice Thomas to recuse himself.
What Was Known:
- Justice Thomas failed to cite his wife’s income on financial disclosure forms for 20 years.
- Recently, he was forced to amend earlier financial disclosure forms after he failed to list $685,000 in salary his wife received from the Heritage Foundation, an organization that actively opposes health care reform
- Separate IRS documents released by Liberty Central, seen HERE, reveal that Ms. Thomas may have received upwards of $150,000 from the organization in 2010, and was slated to receive as much as $165,000 in 2011 and $180,000 in 2012, if she had continued to work there beyond 2010.
What Was Learned Today:
- Financial disclosure forms finally made public by Justice Thomas this afternoon confirm for the first time that his wife was also being paid salary and benefits by Liberty Central, another right-wing organization that is currently working to overturn health care reform
- If Thomas was in fact paid up to$150,000 by Liberty Central in 2010, that would mean she’s received a total of nearly $850,000 from anti-health care organizations, including the previously disclosed $685,000 from the Heritage Foundation – all the more reason Justice Thomas needs to recuse himself.
- Justice Thomas for the first time also filed a value of $15,000 or less in gross value for Liberty Consulting, Inc, the new anti-health care lobbying firm recently founded by his wife in late 2010.
