Four months after Lillian McEwen broke a two-decade silence about her longtime relationship with Clarence Thomas, the retired administrative law judge has written a book.
And it is dirty. Really dirty.
McEwen's "D.C. Unmasked & Undressed" starts off as a memoir of childhood abuse but evolves into twin journeys of sexual discovery and Capitol Hill careerism. The Supreme Court justice is only one of many partners whose caresses McEwen recalls in NC-17 prose - he doesn't even show up until midway through - but he's singled out for special reminiscence.
The author swoons over the fit physique - "velvet-covered cement" - that she says Thomas hid under baggy suits, and kisses that "tasted like honey." We're sparing you a lot of bodice-ripping details that go way beyond the family-newspaper zone. A spokesperson for Thomas's office said the justice will not comment on the book.
McEwen's memoir (from Titletown, a little-known Wisconsin publishing house specializing in true-crime thrillers) elaborates upon some accounts of their relationship she gave reporters last year. In October, Ginni Thomas reopened the debate over her husband's 1991 confirmation by calling for an apology from his then-adversary Anita Hill. McEwen then went public with her memories of Thomas, whom she met in the early '80s when they were both high-powered staffers, each with a young child from a scuttled marriage, and went on to date for several years. McEwen told The Washington Post about her then-boyfriend's habits, including, she claimed, checking out female colleagues and openly talking about pornography - claims that seemed to bolster some of Hill's accusations of inappropriate behavior when she worked for him at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
But the recollections she offers in print are more ambiguous. While she alludes to an interest in porn, McEwen's book never portrays Thomas as leering or outspoken about his tastes, as she implied last fall. Hill is mentioned only briefly, as a source of workplace stress for Thomas, who she writes would often complain about his aide. McEwen writes that Thomas told her Hill was irked she didn't have the same access to him at the EEOC as she did when they worked together previously at the Department of Education. Thomas, she writes, "solved" the problem "by getting her a teaching job outside the city." She recalls Thomas expressing bafflement years later over Hill's accusations. But ultimately, the author's famous lover plays only a supporting role and his legendary accuser a mere cameo in a self-focused memoir that makes no attempt to serve as an amicus brief in the matter of Thomas v. Hill.
McEwen acknowledged to us that she can provide no third-party verification for some of the racier pastimes she claims to have introduced to Thomas. "I have not used any real true names" of the other people in her orbit, she told us. "That would be something that would intrude on their privacy."
Well, what about Thomas's privacy? He's certainly named in the book. Doesn't even a Supreme Court justice deserve to have certain personal moments remain personal?
McEwen says no. When she was a staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee, she saw nominees drop out of the confirmation process when confronted with sexual rumors, she said. "Sex was such an important part of [Thomas's] life, and his way of going through the world," she said. "His privacy is something he decided to sacrifice when he went forward with the nomination, as far as I'm concerned."
Now, maybe we're reading between the heavy-breathing lines, but . . . sounds like Thomas ("a national treasure") was fantastic. "He was the best!" McEwen replied, laughing. "It's why I stayed with him for so many years! Not the only reason, but it's up there at the top."
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