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This is an extraordinary investigation into the dark money network that Leonard Leo has built to prop up the Federalist Society and enrich its leaders (Leo included). washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/…
Leo played a key role in securing Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court, replacing O'Connor.
Alito cast the fifth vote in Citizens United, overruling a precedent coauthored by O'Connor.
Leo then seized on Citizens United to massively expand his dark money network.
Alito cast the fifth vote in Citizens United, overruling a precedent coauthored by O'Connor.
Leo then seized on Citizens United to massively expand his dark money network.
Here's what this article makes clear: The Federalist Society's public face—its "debate society" component—gives Leo cover to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars in dark money, then spend it to stack the courts with arch-conservatives whose rulings align with the GOP platform.
The linchpin of Leo's strategy is the Federalist Society's status as a nonpartisan charity. Leo exploited FedSoc's status to build a sprawling dark money network, allowing donors to anonymously funnel huge sums of money to his (highly political) causes.
When you participate in Federalist Society events, you are helping to legitimize Leo's scheme. You're bolstering the "debate society" aspect of FedSoc that Leo uses as cover to build up his (extremely partisan) dark money network. That's just how the game works.
