A few years ago, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas turned to the moderator as he prepared to answer questions from the Federalist Society, a right-wing legal advocacy group.The unremarkable man with the blue suit and white shirt was referred to as the "No. 3 most powerful person in the world" by Thomas, who then burst out laughing. Leonard Leo, the recipient of the judge's laughter, laughed and said, "God help us."However, both guys were aware of Leo's influence at that time in 2018, which few Americans were. Even though Leo was at the time crucial in helping Donald Trump remodel the court on which Thomas sits and deliver one of its most politically sensitive decisions in recent memory by overturning the right to abortion, the majority of people had never even heard of him.
Even after it was revealed that Leo heads a political organization that received an astounding $1.6 billion donation to advance conservative causes, including election meddling ahead of this year's midterm elections, the 56-year-old Leo, whose opposition to abortion is rooted in his Catholic faith, is still an unknown name to the majority of the US public.The New York Times reported earlier this month that Barre Seid, who is also unknown to most Americans, was the source of the funds, which were claimed to be among the greatest single gifts to a political pressure group.
Seid, who has donated tens of millions of dollars to assist conservative and libertarian organizations, gave the Marble Freedom Trust, a newly established political advocacy organization led by Leo, an entire corporation last year. According to tax filings, Marble sold Tripp Lite, a Chicago-based manufacturer of electronics, this year for $1.6 billion.
The circular process has given rise to rumors. To maximize the cash for Leo, Seid avoided paying taxes on the transaction.
Nearly $250 million has already been distributed from the Marble Freedom Trust, including $153 million to the Rule of Law Trust to promote the selection of conservative justices. More than $1 billion is still available to support Leo's favorite political goals, such as his desire to assist Republican authorities in rigging elections in advance of the midterm elections and the subsequent presidential election.
Leo said that the massive infusion of "dark money" into politics simply levels the playing field for Democrats supported by liberal billionaires.
He added in a statement that "the conservative movement must stand shoulder to shoulder with George Soros, Hansjörg Wyss, Arabella Advisors and other leftwing philanthropists in the fight to safeguard our constitution and its objectives."
Leo and Thomas have been good friends ever since he helped Thomas gather information for the supreme court judge's confirmation hearing in 1991.
Leo afterwards began working for the Federalist Society, an organization that was formed in 1982 to fight what conservatives see as liberal domination in US courts and law schools. As the society's co-chair, he supervised the expansion of the organization's prominence at the expense of the more liberal American Bar Association, in part due to the success of his fundraising for conservative judicial nominees. He eventually rose to become the society's co-chair.
"No one has been more dedicated to the project of constructing a high court that will overturn Roe v. Wade than the Federalist Society's Leonard Leo," said conservative attorney Ed Whelan in the National Review six years ago.
For a vacancy on the Supreme Court in 2005, George W. Bush proposed Harriet Miers, his deputy chief of staff. She was considered a weak candidate in any event, but as conservatives began to turn against her and Miers withdrew, Leo made sure Samuel Alito, who was much more palatable to the right and pro-lifers, took her place.
One of the most vocal opponents of dark money's effect on politics, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, told the Guardian earlier this year that it was a turning point.
The control of this tiny donor class and Leo, its Federalist Society agent, really began to take hold at that point. The result of that was Justice Samuel Alito, who has demonstrated on the court that he is a devoted workhorse for the dark money corporate rightwing clique, he continued.
After Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, new chances emerged.
To help Trump, who had previously professed to be pro-choice, win over conservative and evangelical supporters by promising to appoint judges who were opposed to abortion rights, Leo came up with a list of 11 potential candidates for the Supreme Court.
Leo took a break from the Federalist Society after Trump's win to serve as the president's counselor. Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, all of whom were ultimately appointed to the US Supreme Court during Trump's administration and who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, were all on the list Leo compiled during the campaign.
With the Honest Elections Project, a recent addition to a web of connected organizations backed with dark money, including from the libertarian Koch brothers, Leo has now shifted his focus to promoting conservative initiatives to manipulate elections in favor of Republicans.
Leo is promoting a controversial legal theory, among other things, that the US constitution grants state legislatures the authority to control election procedures without judicial oversight. The Honest Elections Project has filed numerous legal arguments on the subject in an effort to limit state courts' ability to thwart gerrymandering and other election-meddling tactics.
Leo told the Washington Post earlier this year that he is not breaking any new ground by employing dark money for political purposes.
Let's not forget that in this country, the abolitionist movement, the women's suffrage movement, the American Revolution, the early labor movement, and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s were all heavily supported by very wealthy people, oftentimes wealthy people who opted to remain anonymous. I don't see anything wrong with that. That's a positive thing, in my opinion," he remarked.
[zombify_post]
0 Comments