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Liberty Central was a non-profit
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
political advocacy group founded in 2009 by
Ginni Thomas Virginia "Ginni" Thomas ( Lamp; born February 23, 1957) is an American lawyer and conservative activist. In 1987, she married Clarence Thomas, who became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1991. Her conservative co ...
, wife of
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
Associate Justice
Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...
, with
Leonard Leo Leonard Anthony Leo (born November 1965) is an American lawyer, businessman, and conservative legal activist. He was the longtime vice president of the Federalist Society and is currently, along with Steven Calabresi, the co-chairman of the or ...
listed as a director and $500,000 financing from
Harlan Crow Harlan Rogers Crow (born 1949) is an American-Kittitian real estate developer and conservative activist. He is the former chairman and CEO of the Trammell Crow Company, which was founded by his father, Trammell Crow. His father was described as t ...
. Virginia Thomas was formally listed as president and CEO. The group ceased operations in 2012.


Mission

Its declared purpose was stated on its website as "America's Public Square. We Listen. We Inspire. We Activate ... to secure the blessings of liberty." The organization was promoted at the 2010
Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...
as "an online community for those seeking to "preserve freedom and reaffirm the core founding principles." Ed Morrissey, a prominent conservative blogger who runs Hotair.com, said the Liberty Central site would provide education in history and the Constitution for tea party activists.


Funding

The group was founded with
seed money Seed money, also known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor puts capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' suggest ...
of $550,000 coming from two donors whose names were undisclosed. In a February 2011 article, ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' reported that the initial $500,000 contribution came from Dallas real estate investor and conservative philanthropist
Harlan Crow Harlan Rogers Crow (born 1949) is an American-Kittitian real estate developer and conservative activist. He is the former chairman and CEO of the Trammell Crow Company, which was founded by his father, Trammell Crow. His father was described as t ...
.


Activities

Liberty Central activities have included hosting a live web cast on October 20, 2010, in conjunction with the
Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical 501(c)(3) non-profit activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against access ...
to protest the January 2011 expiration of tax cuts that were passed in 2001 and 2003. According to
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
, the Liberty Central group has been highly critical of U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
.


Criticism

Thomas has been criticized for her involvement in Liberty Central because someone who contributes to the group may have a case before the Supreme Court. However, there is no law limiting what Thomas can do, and according to some legal experts Supreme Court Justices are not required to
recuse Recusal is the legal process by which a judge, juror, or other adjudicator steps aside from participating in a case due to potential bias, conflict of interest, or appearance of impropriety. This practice is fundamental to ensuring fairness and ...
themselves from cases where they may have a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
. On October 21, 2010, Thomas was specifically criticized for taking a position, via Liberty Central, on an issue that was likely to come before the Supreme Court - whether the 2010 health care legislation was unconstitutional. A memo signed by Thomas that called for the repeal of the law and that was posted on the Liberty Central website was removed following the criticism. A Liberty Central spokesperson explained that Thomas had not personally reviewed the memo and that it been mistakenly approved by a staff member, and had been circulated by another group, the Conservative Action Project.


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty Central Organizations established in 2009 Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Political organizations based in the United States Tea Party movement 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Conservative organizations in the United States