We Don't Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right's Supreme Court Supermajority
THE PARTY GUESTS who arrived on the evening of June 23, 2022, at the Tudor-style mansion on the coast of Maine were a special group in a special place enjoying a special time. The attendees included some two dozen federal and state judges a gathering that required U.S. marshals with earpieces to stand watch while a Coast Guard boat idled in a nearby cove.
Caterers served guests Pol Roger reserve, Winston Churchills favorite Champagne, a fitting choice for a group of conservative legal luminaries who had much to celebrate. The Supreme Courts most recent term had delivered a series of huge victories with the possibility of a crowning one still to come. The decadeslong campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade, which a leaked draft opinion had said was egregiously wrong from the start, could come to fruition within days, if not hours.
Over dinner courses paired with wines chosen by the former food and beverage director of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., the 70 or so attendees jockeyed for a word with the man who had done as much as anyone to make this moment possible: their host, Leonard Leo.
Short and thick-bodied, dressed in a bespoke suit and round, owlish glasses, Leo looked like a character from an Agatha Christie mystery. Unlike the judges in attendance, Leo had never served a day on the bench. Unlike the other lawyers, he had never argued a case in court. He had never held elected office or run a law school. On paper, he was less important than almost all of his guests.
https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority
This guy must be stopped.
Blue Owl
(50,535 posts)A must read -- thanks for the link Jilly!
FakeNoose
(32,835 posts)I know that I've personally mentioned him several times on previous posts.
And I agree with you, he must be stopped.
northoftheborder
(7,575 posts)Kid Berwyn
(15,017 posts)The Have-Mores, of course. From Pro Publica:
In 2008, as ProPublica first reported, he helped organize a weekend of salmon fishing in Alaska that included Alito and Paul Singer, the hedge fund billionaire and Leo donor. Leo invited Singer on the trip, according to ProPublicas reporting, and Leo also asked Singer if he and Alito could fly on Singers plane. The Alaskan fishing lodge where the three men stayed was owned by Robin Arkley II, a California businessman and also a Leo donor. (Alito has written that the trip did not require disclosure.)
Leo has helped arrange for Scalia and Thomas to attend private donor retreats hosted by the Koch brothers dating as far back as 2007; once, Leo even interviewed Thomas at a Koch summit. The Federalist Society flew Scalia to picturesque locales like Montana and Napa Valley to speak to members. After his Napa appearance, Scalia flew to Alaska for a fishing trip on a plane owned by Arkley. Both Singer and Arkley were generous and early donors to JCN. (Arkley said in a statement: Nothing has been more consequential in transforming the courts and building a more impactful conservative movement than the network of talented individuals and groups fostered by Leonard Leo. Singer did not comment.)
Leo came to the aid of Thomas wife, Ginni, when she launched her own consulting firm, and he directed Kellyanne Conway in 2012 to pay her at least $25,000 as a subcontractor, according to The Washington Post. No mention of Ginni, of course, Leo instructed Conway. Leo denied that the payments had any connection to the Supreme Courts work, and he said he obscured Ginni Thomas role to protect the privacy of Justice Thomas and Ginni.
CONTINUES...
https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority
orthoclad
(2,910 posts)Better yet, he has money. Stolen labor. That's his authority.
"Badges? We don't need no steenkeeg badges"
czarjak
(11,306 posts)Just normal stock.
Mopar151
(10,004 posts)But look at what/who they've sent to the court. Lousy judges, casually corrupt, personally compromised. Boy howdy, you got to be some kinda weird to spend your life hoarding money so's you can hang out with this creepshow.